Beyond solid, liquid, and gas: the strange reality of supercritical fluids
We typically categorize matter into three distinct states, but a fourth, more ambiguous state exists. This video explores supercritical fluids—substances that defy the boundaries between liquid and gas.
Supercritical fluids are neither purely solid, liquid, none, nor gas, yet they are not restricted to extreme environments. While exotic states like plasma or neutron star matter require intense heat or density, supercritical fluids are part of our everyday world, used in processes like decaffeinating coffee and dry cleaning.
The video also examines their presence in the cosmos, noting that planets within our solar system are covered in oceans of this substance, and they play a role in the atmosphere of Jupiter.
