Metastable
Nonequilibrium state that may persist for a very long time, a longer life time than that of regular excited states. This can be:
- nonequilibrium state of a material with respect to some transition, conversion, or reaction but stabilized kinetically either by rapid cooling or by some molecular characteristics
- possessing a state of pseudoequilibrium that has a free energy higher than that of the true equilibrium state
Subjects: Physics