deliquesce
American Heritage Dictionary:
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del·i·quesce
(dĕl'ĭ-kwĕs') 
intr.v., -quesced, -quesc·ing, -quesc·es.
deliquescent del'i·ques'cent adj.
intr.v., -quesced, -quesc·ing, -quesc·es.
- To melt away.
- To disappear as if by melting.
- Chemistry. To dissolve and become liquid by absorbing moisture from the air.
- Botany.
- To branch out into numerous subdivisions that lack a main axis, as the stem of an elm.
- To become fluid or soft on maturing, as certain fungi.
[Latin dēliquēscere : dē-, de- + liquēscere, to melt, inchoative of liquēre, to be liquid.]
deliquescence del'i·ques'cence n.deliquescent del'i·ques'cent adj.
McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia:
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Deliquescence
The absorption of atmospheric water vapor by a crystalline solid until the crystal eventually dissolves into a saturated solution. This behavior is well known for certain salts such as hydrated calcium chloride, CaCl2 · 6H2O, and zinc chloride, ZnCl2, but it is a property of all soluble salts in air of sufficiently high humidity.
Thermodynamically, the condition for deliquescence is that the partial pressure of the water vapor in the air exceeds the vapor pressure (aqueous tension) of the water in the saturated solution of the salt. The speed at which the process takes place depends upon the rate of diffusion of water vapor into the crystal lattice, crystal size, and other factors. The process will stop when the water vapor in the atmosphere is depleted to the point at which its partial pressure equals that of the saturated solution.
Crystalline solids also may absorb water by increasing their water of hydration if the dissociation pressure of the hydrated species to be formed is less than the partial pressure of the water vapor. It is this process, not deliquescence, which is the opposite of efflorescence.
Deliquescent substances can be used to remove water vapor from air, although they have no special advantage over substances which merely add water of hydration and remain crystalline. See also Desiccant; Efflorescence; Vapor pressure.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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deliquesce
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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deliquesce
deliquescence (dĕl'əkwĕs'əns), conversion of a solid substance into a liquid as a result of absorption of water vapor from the air. Since impurities in a solid lower its melting point, the absorbed water causes a decrease in the normal melting point of the solid. If enough water is absorbed to lower the melting point below room temperature, the solid will deliquesce, or turn to liquid. Lithium sulfide and magnesium iodide are examples of deliquescent salts.
Obscure Words:
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deliquesce
to melt away; to dissolve gradually and become liquid by attracting and absorbing moisture
Word Tutor:
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deliquesce
IN BRIEF: To dissolve gradually and become liquid by absorption of moisture from the air.
The cotton candy deliquesced into a sticky puddle during the hot afternoon.
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Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:
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deliquescent
(of certain salts) tending to absorb water from the surrounding atmosphere at ordinary temperature and pressure and then to dissolve in the water so taken up. Compare hygroscopic.
—deliquesce vb.; deliquescence n.
| delipidation, deletion, delayed hypersensitivity | |
| delocalization, delta, delta-sleep-inducing peptide |
Saunders Veterinary Dictionary:
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deliquescence
The condition of becoming moist or liquified as a result of absorption of water from the air.
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Roget's Thesaurus
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry
Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved.
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Saunders Veterinary Dictionary
Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.
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