Solidus (chemistry)
In chemistry, materials science, and physics, the solidus is the locus of temperatures below which a given substance is completely solid. The solidus is applied, among other materials, to metal alloys, ceramics, and natural rocks and minerals.
The solidus quantifies the temperature at which melting of a substance begins, but the substance is not necessarily melted completely, i.e., the solidus is not necessarily a melting point. For this distinction, the solidus may be contrasted to the liquidus. The solidus is always less than or equal to the liquidus, but they need not coincide. If a gap exists between the solidus and liquidus it is called the freezing range, and within that gap, the substance consists of a mixture of solid and liquid phases. Such is the case, for example, with the olivine system.
In eutectic mixtures the solidus and liquidus temperatures coincide at a point known as the eutectic point. At the eutectic point, the solid congruently melts.
