surfusedadj.
/səˈfjuːzd/, U.S. /sərˈfjuzd/ Metallurgy, Chemistry, and Geology. Now rare.
= supercooled adj. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > [adjective] > made cold or cool > of liquid without solidifying
surfused1878
undercooled1902
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > heat > low temperature physics > [adjective] > cooled
surfused1878
supercooled1881
undercooled1895
1878 Ann. Rec. Sci. & Industry 1877 104 Prismatic crystals may be grown from the same surfused mass by contact of a piece of prismatic sulphur.
1898 Nature 27 Oct. 620/1 A very minute quantity of a solid will cause a mass of the same substance to pass from the surfused to the solid state.
1912 J. W. Mellor Mod. Inorg. Chem. ix. 166 The liquid sodium thiosulphate at a temperature below 56° is said to be surfused, or, better, undercooled.
1997 Bull. de la Soc. Géol. de France 168 814 Fournet proposed that surfused quartz could remain liquid below its point of fusion. Scheerer objected that surfusion of 1500 °C had never been observed.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1878