Stages of Melting

An image displaying the stages of a solid melting. In the order or stages: moistening point, sintering point, collapse point, meniscus point, and clear point Figure 1: Stages of melting

Moistening Point: The moistening point is the initial stage of melting a solid. There is no liquid present at this stage.

Sintering Point: At this stage, the loose solid becomes more compact and begins to melt but not the point of complete liquefaction.

Collapse Point: The point where the melting starts. The temperature at this point should be the beginning of your melting point range.

Meniscus Point: The lowest temperature at which enough liquid is present to form a meniscus (a curve where the liquid adheres to the walls of the tube).

Clear Point: The lowest temperature at which all the solid has melted and there is only liquid remaining in the tube.