ScienceAugust 25, 2026

supercooled

SOO-per-kohld

Definition

The act of cooling a liquid or gas below its standard freezing point without it turning into a solid.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'super-' (above, beyond, or in this case, excessive) and the Germanic 'cool' (to make cold), indicating a state of being cooled beyond the normal threshold.

In the news

The researchers rapidly dropped the temperature of metallic nanoparticles to study crystal formation, using the supercooled state to trap and image nuclei at different stages of development.

UCLA-Led Study Revises Crystal Formation Theory

Read the full article ↗

Mirage News

Related words

bicarbonate

A chemical compound containing the HCO3- ion, often found dissolved in water systems or…

Science

chytrid

A type of fungus known for causing infectious diseases in amphibians and other wildlife,…

Science

crystallinity

The degree or quality of being crystalline; the extent to which a substance's atomic…

Science

entropy

A measure of the level of disorder or randomness in a physical system or material…

Science

fledge

To reach the stage of development where a young bird has acquired the necessary feathers…

Science

nanoprobes

Extremely small sensors or diagnostic tools, typically on the molecular or atomic scale,…

Science

Learn a word like this every day

Meet one new word every morning.

Newspoken pulls one carefully chosen word from the day’s news — with a clear definition, context, and light review that makes it stick. Get it on your phone.