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At a pressure of 3206.2 psia, represented
by line MNO, there is no constant-temperaturevaporization
process. Rather, point N is a point of inflection, with
the slope being zero. Thispoint
is called the critical point, and at the critical
point the saturated-liquid and saturated-vaporstates
are identical. The temperature, pressure, and specific
volume at the critical point are calledthe
critical temperature, critical pressure, and critical
volume.
A constant
pressure process greater than the critical pressure is
represented by line PQ. Thereis
no definite change in phase from liquid to vapor and no
definite point at which there is achange
from the liquid phase to the vapor phase. For pressures
greater than the critical pressure,the
substance is usually called a liquid when the temperature
is less than the critical temperature(705.47°F)
and a vapor or gas when the temperature is greater than
the critical temperature. Inthe
figure, line NJFB represents the saturated liquid line,
and the line NKGC represents thesaturated
vapor line.
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