Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Supercritical
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Supercritical
Supercritical-Best-Of.mp3
Supercritical-Best-Of.mp4
Supercritical.mp3
Supercritical.mp4
Supercritical-intro.mp3
[Verse 1]
Do you have to be so critical
(Super duper)
Can’t you act more rational
(A normal formal state)
[Chorus]
Supercritical
(Fluctuates wildly)
Turning political
(To put it mildly)
[Verse 2]
To please me
(Stay away from my coffee)
Decaffeinated
(Is way overrated)
[Chorus]
Supercritical
(Fluctuates wildly)
Turning political
(To put it mildly)
[Bridge]
Compressibility spikes
(Yikes!)
Surface tension disappears
(Raising fears)
Time to anoint
(Where at a critical point)
[Chorus]
Supercritical
(Fluctuates wildly)
Turning political
(To put it mildly)
[Outro]
Supercritical
(Avoid the hypocritical)
A SCIENCE NOTE
Supercritical Fluid
Occurs above critical temperature & pressure.
Behaves like both a gas and a liquid.
Example: Supercritical CO₂ (used to decaffeinate coffee).
A supercritical fluid is a state of matter that occurs above a substance’s critical temperature and pressure—the point where the substance can no longer be distinguished as either a liquid or a gas.
It behaves as a hybrid:
Like a gas: fills a container completely and flows freely
Like a liquid: dissolves substances and has solvent-like properties
Critical Point: The Threshold
The critical point is defined by:
Critical Temperature (Tc): Above this, the substance cannot be liquefied by pressure alone.
Critical Pressure (Pc): Minimum pressure required to liquefy a gas at its critical temperature.
Examples of Supercritical Fluids
Substance
Critical Temperature (°C)
Critical Pressure (atm)
Use / Notes
Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)
31.1 °C
73.8 atm (7.38 MPa)
Decaffeinating coffee, green solvents
Water (H₂O)
374 °C
218 atm (22.1 MPa)
Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO), chemistry reactions
Ammonia (NH₃)
132.4 °C
112.8 atm
Experimental refrigeration
Methane (CH₄)
-82.6 °C
45.8 atm
Natural gas processing
Ethanol (C₂H₅OH)
241.6 °C
63 atm
Solvent for organic materials
Why They’re Useful
Tunable solvents: Slight changes in temp/pressure adjust their solvency.
Green chemistry: CO₂ replaces toxic solvents in extraction or cleaning.
Penetrative: SCFs can diffuse through solids like a gas but dissolve substances like a liquid.
Behavior Near the Critical Point
Density fluctuates wildly.
Surface tension disappears (no distinct liquid/gas interface).
Compressibility spikes.
This makes supercritical fluids useful but difficult to control without precise equipment.
From the album “States of Matter“
View all episodes
Supercritical-Best-Of.mp3
Supercritical-Best-Of.mp4
Supercritical.mp3
Supercritical.mp4
Supercritical-intro.mp3
[Verse 1]
Do you have to be so critical
(Super duper)
Can’t you act more rational
(A normal formal state)
[Chorus]
Supercritical
(Fluctuates wildly)
Turning political
(To put it mildly)
[Verse 2]
To please me
(Stay away from my coffee)
Decaffeinated
(Is way overrated)
[Chorus]
Supercritical
(Fluctuates wildly)
Turning political
(To put it mildly)
[Bridge]
Compressibility spikes
(Yikes!)
Surface tension disappears
(Raising fears)
Time to anoint
(Where at a critical point)
[Chorus]
Supercritical
(Fluctuates wildly)
Turning political
(To put it mildly)
[Outro]
Supercritical
(Avoid the hypocritical)
A SCIENCE NOTE
Supercritical Fluid
Occurs above critical temperature & pressure.
Behaves like both a gas and a liquid.
Example: Supercritical CO₂ (used to decaffeinate coffee).
A supercritical fluid is a state of matter that occurs above a substance’s critical temperature and pressure—the point where the substance can no longer be distinguished as either a liquid or a gas.
It behaves as a hybrid:
Like a gas: fills a container completely and flows freely
Like a liquid: dissolves substances and has solvent-like properties
Critical Point: The Threshold
The critical point is defined by:
Critical Temperature (Tc): Above this, the substance cannot be liquefied by pressure alone.
Critical Pressure (Pc): Minimum pressure required to liquefy a gas at its critical temperature.
Examples of Supercritical Fluids
Substance
Critical Temperature (°C)
Critical Pressure (atm)
Use / Notes
Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)
31.1 °C
73.8 atm (7.38 MPa)
Decaffeinating coffee, green solvents
Water (H₂O)
374 °C
218 atm (22.1 MPa)
Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO), chemistry reactions
Ammonia (NH₃)
132.4 °C
112.8 atm
Experimental refrigeration
Methane (CH₄)
-82.6 °C
45.8 atm
Natural gas processing
Ethanol (C₂H₅OH)
241.6 °C
63 atm
Solvent for organic materials
Why They’re Useful
Tunable solvents: Slight changes in temp/pressure adjust their solvency.
Green chemistry: CO₂ replaces toxic solvents in extraction or cleaning.
Penetrative: SCFs can diffuse through solids like a gas but dissolve substances like a liquid.
Behavior Near the Critical Point
Density fluctuates wildly.
Surface tension disappears (no distinct liquid/gas interface).
Compressibility spikes.
This makes supercritical fluids useful but difficult to control without precise equipment.
From the album “States of Matter“