What process occurs as a gas turns into a solid (and skips the liquid state). For example, frost forms when water vapor in the air turns into a solid.

1 answer

The process that occurs as a gas turns into a solid, skipping the liquid state, is called deposition. Deposition happens when a gas cools down and directly transitions into a solid state, bypassing the liquid phase. During deposition, the gas molecules lose energy and arrange themselves into a solid structure without going through the intermediate step of becoming a liquid. Frost formation is one common example of deposition, where water vapor in the air directly transforms into ice crystals on a cold surface.