Liquid Phosphorus

Liquid Phosphorus is the molten form of Phosphorus that appears when Phosphorite is heated past its phase change temperature of 246.85 °C. It is an intermediate material in the refining chain: heating Phosphorite melts it into Liquid Phosphorus, and cooling Liquid Phosphorus freezes it into Refined Phosphorus. This transformation is notable because it absorbs a large amount of heat, since Refined Phosphorus has a much higher specific heat capacity than Phosphorite.

When Liquid Phosphorus is cooled into a solid state, the result depends on how much mass is present. At 160 kg or more, it solidifies into a natural tile of Refined Phosphorus, which must then be mined to recover it, and mining reduces the tile’s mass by 50%. If the quantity is less than 160 kg, it solidifies directly into Refined Phosphorus debris without any loss of mass. This makes the material useful both as a source of Refined Phosphorus and as a heat-transfer target in setups that can control its phase changes.

Liquid Phosphorus has several practical uses through its solid form:

• Refined Phosphorus can be eaten by Azure Bugs and Abyss Bugs.
• Airborne Critter Bait can use Refined Phosphorus as bait to attract those critters.
• The Geotuner consumes Refined Phosphorus to increase both the output and the temperature of metal volcanoes.

Because the phase change is strongly temperature-dependent, Liquid Phosphorus is usually handled as part of a controlled heating or cooling system rather than as a transport material. The key decision is whether the goal is to preserve mass as debris or to create a mineable solid tile for extraction.