Freezing Point – How Pressure Affects the Freezing Temperature of Water

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I know when the pressure is reduced, the boiling temperature of water is reduced as well. But how does the pressure affect the freezing point of water?

In a low-pressure environment, is water's freezing temperature higher or lower than $0\sideset{^{\circ}}{}{\mathrm{C}} \, ?$

Best Answer

You can have a look at this pressure/temperature phase diagram of water:

Phase diagram of water
Phase diagram taken from Martin Chaplin's webpage, under license CC-BY-NC-ND. This webpage is highly recommended, with tons of useful links and articles.

For reference, the diagram shows a point labeled $`` \textbf{E} "$ for fairly standard human conditions, around $25\sideset{^{\circ}}{}{\mathrm{C}} ~ \left(\sim 77\sideset{^{\circ}}{}{\mathrm{F}}\right)$ and normal atmospheric pressure.

The phase boundary between $\color{darkblue}{\textbf{Solid Ih}}$ and $\color{green}{\textbf{Liquid}}$ represents the temperature/pressure combinations at which water coexists between liquid water and solid ice. This boundary shows that the freezing temperature is roughly constant over a large pressure range, from about the triple-point (where solid, liquid, and vapor can coexist) and up to a pressure of about $200 \, \mathrm{MPa} .$

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