A phenomenon where a solid substance can transform between two different crystal forms at different temperatures, with each form being stable above and below a specific transition point.
Greek 'enantios' (opposite) + 'tropos' (turning) + '-y' (noun suffix). Developed in 19th-century crystallography and chemistry to describe reversible solid-state transformations.
Sulfur is the classic example: below 95.5°C it's one crystal shape, above that temperature it's completely different, and it can flip back and forth. Nature's chemistry has built-in shape-changing superpowers!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.