Saturated liquid: A liquid that is about to vaporize. At 1 atm and 20°C, water exists in the liquid phase (compressed liquid). ... Saturated liquid–vapor mixture: The state at which the liquid and vapor phases coexist in equilibrium. • Superheated vapor: A vapor that is not about to condense (i.e., not a saturated vapor).
Saturated (dry) steam results when water is heated to the boiling point (sensible heating) and then vaporized with additional heat (latent heating). If this steam is then further heated above the saturation point, it becomes superheated steam (sensible heating).
DescriptionSuperheated steam is steam at a temperature higher than its vaporization point at the absolute pressure where the temperature is measured. Superheated steam can therefore cool by some amount, resulting in a lowering of its temperature without changing state from a gas, to a mixture of saturated vapor and liquid.
Compressed liquid (subcooled liquid): A substance that it is not about to vaporize. • Saturated liquid: A liquid that is about to vaporize. At 1 atm and 20°C, water exists in the liquid phase (compressed liquid). At 1 atm pressure and 100°C, water exists as a liquid that is ready to vaporize (saturated liquid).
A critical point occurs when the derivative is 0 or undefined. If our equation is f(x)=mx+b, we get f'(x)=m. So if the function is constant (m=0) we get infinitely many critical points. Otherwise, we have no critical points.