The Simon–Glatzel equation is an empirical correlation describing the pressure dependence of the
melting temperature of a
solid
Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...
. The pressure dependence of the melting temperature is small for small pressure changes because the volume change during fusion or melting is rather small. However, at very high pressures higher melting temperatures are generally observed as the liquid usually occupies a larger volume than the solid making melting more thermodynamically unfavorable at elevated pressure. If the liquid has a smaller volume than the solid (as for ice and liquid water) a higher pressure leads to a lower melting point.
The equation and its variations
:
and
are normally the temperature and the pressure of the
triple point
In thermodynamics, the triple point of a substance is the temperature and pressure at which the three Phase (matter), phases (gas, liquid, and solid) of that substance coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium.. It is that temperature and pressure at ...
, but the normal melting temperature at
atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1,013. ...
are also commonly used as reference point because the normal melting point is much more easily accessible. Typically
is then set to 0.
and
are component-specific parameters.
The Simon–Glatzel equation can be viewed as a combination of the
Murnaghan equation of state
The Murnaghan equation of state is a relationship between the volume of a body and the pressure to which it is subjected. This is one of many state equations that have been used in earth sciences and shock physics to model the behavior of matter u ...
and the Lindemann law, and an alternative form was proposed by J. J. Gilvarry (1956):
where
is general
at
,
is pressure derivative
at
,
is Grüneisen ratio, and
is the coefficient in
Morse potential
The Morse potential, named after physicist Philip M. Morse, is a convenient
Interatomic potential, interatomic interaction model for the potential energy of a diatomic molecule. It is a better approximation for the oscillation, vibrational struct ...
.
Example parameters

For
methanol
Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...
the following parameters can be obtained:
The reference temperature has been ''T''
ref = 174.61 K and the reference pressure ''P''
ref has been set to 0 kPa.
Methanol is a component where the Simon–Glatzel works well in the given validity range.
Extensions and generalizations
The Simon–Glatzel equation is a monotonically increasing function. It can only describe the melting curves that rise indefinitely with increasing pressure. It may fail to describe the melting curves with a negative pressure dependence or local maximums. A damping term that asymptotically slopes down under pressure,