In fluid physics, undercooling is the lowering of the temperature of a liquid beyond the freezing temperature and still maintaining a liquid form.

Normally, freezing occurs when the molecules of the container walls impose an ordering on the liquid's molecules causing them to arrange themselves into a crystalline structure and begin to grow. Without the container, however, the onset of freezing (nucleation) has a good chance of not happening. But, at some lower temperature nucleation will occur and very rapid freezing takes place (recalescence).

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