Melting Point

Published: February 5, 2016 | Updated: July 31, 2017

Definition - What does Melting Point mean?

The melting point of a substance is the temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid. It is equal to the freezing point, or the point at which a liquid becomes a solid. This melting or liquefaction point is different for different kinds of materials or elements in the periodic table. This is largely to do with the atomic number of a substance and how it reacts to atmospheric pressure.

Safeopedia explains Melting Point

The melting point of a substance is an important physical property of a substance or compound as it helps to identify a substance and how pure it is. The melting point is helpful in identifying atomic structure in a material as well, by both the size of a molecule and the force of attraction between molecules. Due to the fact that heat effects these, the melting point is important to know.