Supersaturation

Expanding upon this, Gay-Lussac brought attention to the kinematics of salt ions and the characteristics of the container having an impact on the supersaturation state.

In some cases crystals do not form quickly and the solution remains supersaturated after cooling.

Carbohydrates are a class of such compounds; The thermodynamic barrier to formation of crystals is rather high because of extensive and irregular hydrogen bonding with the solvent, water.

For example, although sucrose can be recrystallised easily, its hydrolysis product, known as "invert sugar" or "golden syrup" is a mixture of glucose and fructose that exists as a viscous, supersaturated, liquid.

Fizzy drinks are made by subjecting the liquid to carbon dioxide, under pressure.

Release of gas from supersaturated tissues can cause an underwater diver to suffer from decompression sickness (a.k.a.

This can be fatal if the released gas obstructs critical blood supplies causing ischaemia in vital tissues.

"[13] Oral consumption of a drug in this form is simple and allows for the measurement of very precise dosages.

Primarily, it provides a means for drugs with very low solubility to be made into aqueous solutions.

[14][15] In addition, some drugs can undergo supersaturation inside the body despite being ingested in a crystalline form.

The identification of supersaturated solutions can be used as a tool for marine ecologists to study the activity of organisms and populations.

Thus, an area of the ocean supersaturated with O2 gas can likely determined to be rich with photosynthetic activity.

For these reasons, relative humidities over ice in the atmosphere can be found above 100%, meaning supersaturation has occurred.

Supersaturation of water is actually very common in the upper troposphere, occurring between 20% and 40% of the time.