Critical point may refer to: *

Critical phenomena In physics, critical phenomena is the collective name associated with the physics of critical points. Most of them stem from the divergence of the correlation length, but also the dynamics slows down. Critical phenomena include scaling relatio ...

in physics *

Critical point (mathematics) Critical point is a wide term used in many branches of mathematics. When dealing with functions of a real variable, a critical point is a point in the domain of the function where the function is either not differentiable or the derivative ...

, in calculus, a point where a function's derivative is either zero or nonexistent *

Critical point (set theory) In set theory, the critical point of an elementary embedding of a transitive class into another transitive class is the smallest ordinal which is not mapped to itself. p. 323 Suppose that j: N \to M is an elementary embedding where N and M are tr ...

, an elementary embedding of a transitive class into another transitive class which is the smallest ordinal which is not mapped to itself *

Critical point (thermodynamics) In thermodynamics, a critical point (or critical state) is the end point of a phase equilibrium curve. The most prominent example is the liquid–vapor critical point, the end point of the pressure–temperature curve that designates conditions ...

, a temperature and pressure of a material beyond which there is no longer any difference between the liquid and gas phases *

Quantum critical point A quantum critical point is a point in the phase diagram of a material where a continuous phase transition takes place at absolute zero. A quantum critical point is typically achieved by a continuous suppression of a nonzero temperature phase t ...

Critical point (network science) In network science, a critical point is a value of average degree, which separates random networks that have a giant component from those that do not (i.e. it separates a network in a subcritical regime from one in a supercritical regime). Consider ...

Construction point The construction point ( ger, Konstruktionspunkt), also known as the K-point or K-spot and formerly critical point, is a line across a ski jumping hill. It is used to calculate the number of points granted for a given jump. It is therefore also ca ...

, in skiing, a line that represents the steepest point on a hill

See also