Deposition is the

phase transition In physics, chemistry, and other related fields like biology, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic Sta ...

in which

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

transforms into

solid Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...

without passing through the

liquid phase Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to that ...

. Deposition is a

thermodynamic process Classical thermodynamics considers three main kinds of thermodynamic processes: (1) changes in a system, (2) cycles in a system, and (3) flow processes. (1) A Thermodynamic process is a process in which the thermodynamic state of a system is c ...

. The reverse of deposition is sublimation and hence sometimes deposition is called desublimation.

Applications

Examples

One example of deposition is the process by which, in

sub-freezing Freezing is a phase transition in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain substances possess dif ...

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

water vapour Water vapor, water vapour, or aqueous vapor is the gaseous phase of water. It is one state of water within the hydrosphere. Water vapor can be produced from the evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from the sublimation of ice. Water vapor ...

changes directly to

ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

without first becoming a

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

. This is how

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

and

hoar frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is similar ...

form on the ground or other surfaces, including leaves. For deposition to occur, thermal energy must be removed from a gas. When the air becomes cold enough, water vapour in the air surrounding a leaf loses enough thermal energy to change into a solid. Even though the air temperature may be below the

dew point The dew point is the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to produce a relative humidity of 100%. This temperature depends on the pressure and water content of the air. When the air at a temperature above the ...

, the water vapour in the air alone may not condense spontaneously. This supercooled water vapour, when around a leaf, immediately begins to condense. Since it is already past the freezing point, the water vapour changes directly into solid frost.

Soot Soot ( ) is a mass of impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. Soot is considered a hazardous substance with carcinogenic properties. Most broadly, the term includes all the particulate matter produced b ...

accumulates as an aerosol deposition. In a fireplace, soot is deposited on the walls of the chimney. Soot particles are aerosolized within

volatile organic compound Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to Indoor mold, house mold, Upholstery, upholstered furnitur ...

s. These VOCs are in a hot and gaseous state, rising from the fire. When the VOCs come into contact with the walls, they cool, and change to the solid state, without formation of the liquid state. The soot particles also cling to the walls upon contact. This process is made use of industrially in

combustion chemical vapour deposition Combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) is a chemical process by which thin-film coatings are deposited onto substrates in the open atmosphere. History In the 1980s initial attempts were performed to improve the adhesion of metal-plastic ...

Industrial applications

There is an industrial coating process, known as

evaporative deposition Evaporation is a common method of thin-film deposition. The source material is evaporated in a vacuum. The vacuum allows vapor particles to travel directly to the target object (substrate), where they condense back to a solid state. Evaporatio ...

, whereby a solid material is heated to the gaseous state in a low-pressure chamber, the gas molecules travel across the chamber space and then deposit to the solid state on a target surface, forming a smooth and thin layer on the target surface. Again, the molecules do not go through an intermediate liquid state when going from the gas to the solid. See also

physical vapor deposition Physical vapor deposition (PVD), sometimes called physical vapor transport (PVT), describes a variety of vacuum deposition methods which can be used to produce thin films and coatings on substrates including metals, ceramics, glass, and polym ...

, which is a class of processes used to deposit

thin films A thin film is a layer of materials ranging from fractions of a nanometer ( monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many ...

of various materials onto various surfaces. Deposition releases energy and is an exothermic phase change.

References

* Gaja, Shiv P., ''Fundamentals of Atmospheric Modeling,'' Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed., 2005, p. 525 * Moore, John W., et al., ''Principles of Chemistry: The Molecular Science,'' Brooks Cole, 2009, p. 387 * Whitten, Kenneth W., et al., ''Chemistry,'' Brooks-Cole, 9th ed., 2009, p. 7 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deposition (Physics) Phase transitions