Editing Liquefaction

{{short description|Process that generates a liquid from a solid or a gas}}
{{About|the physical process|the end of a business|Liquidation}}
[[File:Liquefaction on roads - North New Brighton centre in Christchurch Feb 2011 quake.jpg|thumb|right|The effects of [[soil liquefaction]], seen after [[2011 Canterbury earthquake]] ]]
In [[materials science]], '''liquefaction'''<ref>Some authors contend that there is a distinction between '''liquefaction''' and '''liquification''' (which is more commonly considered a misspelling), with the latter term applying only to processes involving heat. {{cite book|last1=Knox|first1=Ray|last2=Stewart|first2=David|title=The New Madrid Fault Finders Guide|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zNwwnle8NIQC&pg=PA36|year=1995|publisher=Gutenberg-Richter Publications|location=Marble Hill, MO|isbn=978-0-934426-42-8|page=36|chapter=3. Recognizing Seismic Landforms|lccn=91-91374}}</ref> is a process that generates a [[liquid]] from a [[solid]] or a [[gas]]<ref>{{cite magazine |date=20 April 1899 |title=Pharmaceutical Processes: Processes of Liquefaction |magazine=The Pharmaceutical Era |issue=21 |page=503 |quote=[by] a process of liquefaction is meant any process the effect of which is to cause a solid or gaseous body to assume or pass into the liquid state.}}</ref> or that generates a non-liquid [[Phase (matter)|phase]] which behaves in accordance with [[fluid dynamics]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Pickett |editor-first=Joseph P. |encyclopedia=The American Heritage Science Dictionary |title=Liquefaction |date=2005 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |location=Boston, MA |isbn=978-0-618-45504-1 |lccn=2004019696 |page=363}}</ref> 
It occurs both [[nature|naturally]] and [[artificially]]. As an example of the latter, a "major commercial application of liquefaction is the liquefaction of air to allow separation of the constituents, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and the noble gases."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Mavrikis |editor-first1=Peter |editor2-last=Horobin |editor2-first=Wendy |encyclopedia=How It Works: Science and Technology |title=Liquefaction |edition=3rd |date=2003 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |volume=20 |location=Tarrytown, NY |isbn=0-7614-7314-9 |lccn=2001028771 |page=64}}</ref> Another is the conversion of solid coal into a liquid form usable as a substitute for liquid fuels.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Speight |first1=James G. |title=The Chemistry and Technology of Coal |date=2013 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, FL |isbn=9781138199224 |pages=545–607 |edition=3rd |series=Chemical Industries |volume=132}}</ref>

In [[geology]], [[soil liquefaction]] refers to the process by which water-saturated, unconsolidated [[sediment]]s are transformed into a substance that acts like a liquid, often in an earthquake.<ref name="definition">{{cite web|author=USGS|title=About Liquefaction|url=http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/sfgeo/liquefaction/aboutliq.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412163427/http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/sfgeo/liquefaction/aboutliq.html|archive-date=2013-04-12}}</ref> Soil liquefaction was blamed for building collapses in the city of Palu, [[Indonesia]] in October 2018.<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news |last=Davis |first=Nicola |title=Indonesia earthquake: soil liquefaction blamed for building collapses |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/02/indonesia-earthquake-soil-liquefaction-blamed-for-building-collapses |work=The Guardian }}</ref>

In a related phenomenon, liquefaction of bulk materials in cargo ships may cause a dangerous shift in the load.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gourvenec |first1=Susan |author-link=Susan Gourvenec |date=2 September 2018 |title=Mystery of the cargo ships that sink when their cargo suddenly liquefies |work=[[Ars Technica]] |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/mystery-of-the-cargo-ships-that-sink-when-their-cargo-suddenly-liquefies/ |access-date=6 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="NYT_Indonesia_2018">{{cite news |last1=Marcolini |first1=Barbara |last2=Koettl |first2=Christoph |title=How the Indonesia Earthquake Made Soil Flow Like Water |url=https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/asia/100000006138189/indonesia-earthquake-damage-liquefaction.html |work=NYT |date=2 October 2018 |issue=International}}</ref>

In [[physics]] and [[chemistry]], the [[phase transitions]] from solid and [gas to liquid ([[melting]] and [[condensation]], respectively) may be referred to as liquefaction. The [[melting point]] (sometimes called liquefaction point) is the temperature and pressure at which a solid becomes a liquid. In commercial and industrial situations, the process of condensing a gas to liquid is sometimes referred to as [[liquefaction of gases]]. [[Coal liquefaction]] is the production of [[liquid fuel]]s from [[coal]] using a variety of industrial processes.

Liquefaction is also used in commercial and industrial settings to refer to mechanical [[dissolution (chemistry)|dissolution]] of a solid by [[mixing (process engineering)|mixing]], grinding or blending with a liquid. In kitchen or laboratory settings, solids may be chopped into smaller parts sometimes in combination with a liquid, for example in food preparation or laboratory use. This may be done with a [[blender]].

In [[biology]], liquefaction often involves organic tissue turning into a more liquid-like state. For example, [[liquefactive necrosis]] in [[pathology]],<ref name="RobbinsCotran">Robbins and Cotran: Pathologic Basis of Disease, 8th Ed. 2010. Pg. 15</ref> or liquefaction as a parameter in [[semen analysis]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gardner|first=Kavid|title=Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Technology Laboratory and Clinical Perspectives|year=2001|publisher=Taylor and Francis|page=63|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BuS2CqreU3gC|access-date=2013-11-03|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102015431/http://books.google.com/books?id=BuS2CqreU3gC&dq|archive-date=2014-01-02|isbn=9780415448949}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Cryogenic energy storage]]
* [[Fluidization]]
* [[Liquifaction point]]
* [[Thixotropy]] 

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|liquefaction|liquefier|liquify|liquefy|liquidiser|liquidizer|liquidise|liquidize}}
{{commons category|Liquefaction}}
* [http://amigo.geneontology.org/amigo/term/GO:0070684 Seminal Clot Liquefaction]

[[Category:Condensed matter physics]]
[[Category:Earthquake engineering]]
[[Category:Food preparation techniques]]
[[Category:Laboratory techniques]]
[[Category:Food science]]