- This article is about the phenomenon where a liquid can exist in a metastable state above its boiling point. See superheated water for pressurized water above 100 °C. See superheater for the device used in steam engines.
In
physics,
superheating (sometimes referred to as
boiling retardation, or
boiling delay) is the phenomenon in which a
liquid is heated to a
temperature higher than its
boiling point, without boiling. Superheating is achieved by heating a substance in a clean container, free of
nucleation sites, while taking care not to disturb the liquid.