Supercritical may refer to:

Physics and technology

Condensed matter physics

Critical temperature Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine *Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. *Critical Software, a company specializing in ...

, T_C, a temperature above which distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist for a given material **

Supercritical drying Supercritical drying, also known as critical point drying, is a process to remove liquid in a precise and controlled way. It is useful in the production of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), the drying of spices, the production of aerogel, t ...

, a process used to remove liquid in a precisely controlled way, similar to freeze drying **

Supercritical fluid A supercritical fluid (SCF) is any substance at a temperature and pressure above its critical point, where distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist, but below the pressure required to compress it into a solid. It can effuse through porous so ...

, a substance at a temperature and pressure above its thermodynamic critical point: ***

Supercritical carbon dioxide Supercritical carbon dioxide (s) is a fluid state of carbon dioxide where it is held at or above its critical temperature and critical pressure. Carbon dioxide usually behaves as a gas in air at standard temperature and pressure (STP), or as ...

: ****

Supercritical fluid chromatography Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is a form of normal phase chromatography that uses a supercritical fluid such as carbon dioxide as the mobile phase. It is used for the analysis and purification of low to moderate molecular weight, thermal ...

, a form of liquid chromatography using supercritical carbon dioxide as the mobile phase ***Supercritical water: ****

Supercritical steam generator A supercritical steam generator is a type of boiler that operates at supercritical pressure, frequently used in the production of electric power. In contrast to a subcritical boiler in which bubbles can form, a supercritical steam generator op ...

, a steam generator operating above the critical point of water, hence having no water–steam separation ****

Supercritical water oxidation Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) is a process that occurs in water at temperatures and pressures above a mixture's thermodynamic critical point (thermodynamics), critical point. Under these conditions water becomes a fluid with unique propert ...

or SCWO, a process that occurs in water at temperatures and pressures above a mixture's thermodynamic critical point ****

Supercritical water reactor The supercritical water reactor (SCWR) is a concept Generation IV reactor, designed as a light water reactor (LWR) that operates at supercritical pressure (i.e. greater than 22.1 MPa). The term ''critical'' in this context refers to the c ...

(SCWR), a Generation IV nuclear reactor concept that uses supercritical water as the working fluid

Flows

Supercritical flow A supercritical flow is a flow whose velocity is larger than the wave velocity. The analogous condition in gas dynamics is supersonic speed. According to the website Civil Engineering Terms, supercritical flow is defined as follows: The flow ...

, where flow velocity is larger than wave velocity **

Supercritical airfoil A supercritical airfoil (supercritical aerofoil in British English) is an airfoil designed primarily to delay the onset of wave drag in the transonic speed range. Supercritical airfoils are characterized by their flattened upper surface, highly ...

, an airfoil designed to delay the onset of wave drag in the transonic speed regime

Nuclear physics

Supercritical mass In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fissio ...

, an amount of fissile material that will undergo a sustained nuclear chain reaction at an increasing rate

Mathematics

Hopf bifurcation In the mathematical theory of bifurcations, a Hopf bifurcation is a critical point where a system's stability switches and a periodic solution arises. More accurately, it is a local bifurcation in which a fixed point of a dynamical system loses ...

, in mathematics, a local bifurcation; when the first Lyapunov coefficient is negative, the bifurcation is called supercritical *

Pitchfork bifurcation In bifurcation theory, a field within mathematics, a pitchfork bifurcation is a particular type of local bifurcation where the system transitions from one fixed point to three fixed points. Pitchfork bifurcations, like Hopf bifurcations, have two ...

, in mathematics, similar to Hopf bifurcation

Other uses

* ''

Super Critical ''Super Critical'' is the third studio album by English indie pop duo The Ting Tings, released on 24 October 2014 by Finca Records. "Wrong Club" was released as the lead single from the album on 15 August 2014, followed by "Do It Again" on 22 Sep ...

'', an album by British pop/rock group The Ting Tings {{Disambig