How are solid, gas and vapor able to coexist at once and what would it look like?
In: Chemistry
I’m not sure if this is really an ELI5, but I think it’s easier to understand if you think about the triple point as the transition out of the region of pressure and temperature where sublimation occurs.
Sublimation is a state transition at low pressure and temperature where solids will transition to gases directly, skipping the liquid phase entirely. Basically there is no liquid state at low pressure and temperatures, it’s either a gas or a solid.
The triple point is the point beyond which sublimation stops, and liquid starts to form. If you stay right at the triple point, you get a combination of sublimation, thawing, boiling, and freezing all happening at once (this video is just the first one I found on youtube if you’re interested in what it looks like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juz9pVVsmQQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juz9pVVsmQQ), around 1:15 is the triple point).
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