Flash freezing

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article is written like a manual or guide. Please help rewrite this article and remove advice or instruction. (July 2018) This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In physics and chemistry, flash freezing is the process whereby objects are rapidly frozen.^[1] This is done by subjecting them to cryogenic temperatures, or it can be done through direct contact with liquid nitrogen at −196 °C (−320.8 °F). It is commonly used in the food industry.

Flash freezing is of great importance in atmospheric science, as its study is necessary for a proper climate model for the formation of ice clouds in the upper troposphere, which effectively scatter incoming solar radiation and prevent Earth from becoming overheated by the sun.^[2]

The process is also closely related to classical nucleation theory, which helps in understanding many materials, phenomena, and theories in related situations.