Subliming

Summary: Where does stage smoke come from? It comes from solid carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is solid at temperatures below -78.5°C. At this temperature and above, solid carbon dioxide changes state to become a gas. Carbon dioxide does not normally exist as a liquid. This change of state from solid to gas is called subliming or sublimation. Water particles from the air condense around carbon dioxide particles. Tiny drops of liquid water form. It is this liquid water that you see as stage smoke (see Figure 3). Tags: science student-book-7 chemistry Created: 2026-05-21 Last Updated: 2026-05-21

Subliming

Where does stage smoke come from? It comes from solid carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is solid at temperatures below -78.5°C. At this temperature and above, solid carbon dioxide changes state to become a gas. Carbon dioxide does not normally exist as a liquid. This change of state from solid to gas is called subliming or sublimation. Water particles from the air condense around carbon dioxide particles. Tiny drops of liquid water form. It is this liquid water that you see as stage smoke (see Figure 3).

Source

This concept is from the [Science Student Book 7](Science Student Book 7/Chemistry/Particles and Their Behaviour/1.6 More changes of state.md), Chemistry section.