eutectic

From Ancient Greek εὔτηκτος (eútēktos, “easily melted”), from εὖ (eû, “well”) + τήκω (tḗkō, “to melt”). Coined as an adjective (along with the noun eutexia) by British scientist Frederick Guthrie in 1884.

• (US) IPA^(key): /juˈtɛk.tɪk/
• Hyphenation: eu‧tec‧tic

eutectic (not comparable)

1. Describing the chemical composition or temperature of a mixture of substances that gives the lowest temperature at which the mixture becomes fully molten. A further requirement is that that temperature is lower than the melting point of any of the pure component substances.
2. (chemistry) Describing the thermodynamic equilibrium conditions where a liquid coexists with two solid phases.

   For a mixture with two components at a fixed pressure, the eutectic reaction can only happen at a fixed chemical composition and temperature, called the eutectic point.

eutectic (plural eutectics)

1. A material that has the composition of a eutectic mixture or eutectic alloy
2. The temperature of the eutectic point

• Use with the indefinite article is mixed. The dominant usage seems to favour "a eutectic", although "an eutectic" can be found in some texts.

• The Oxford English Dictionary