Solid Gunk

Solid Gunk is a solid element. As with other solid tiles in Oxygen Not Included, it can be excavated, but digging it out destroys half of its mass, so breaking it up is always lossy compared with moving or preserving it in place.

Its state changes follow the normal phase-change rules for solids: when heated to 3°C above its melting point, it melts into a liquid form. By the same rule set, liquids become solid when cooled to 3°C below their freezing point, and liquids can also turn into gas when heated to 3°C above their boiling point. This means Solid Gunk is governed by the same temperature thresholds as other materials, and its behavior is primarily determined by the temperature of the surrounding environment.

Because mining wastes mass, Solid Gunk is best treated like any other valuable or scarce solid resource: if you only need access, plan excavation carefully so you do not lose more material than necessary. If the tile is part of a larger structure or a temperature-sensitive area, changing its state through heating or cooling may be more efficient than digging it out, depending on the broader setup.

In practical use, the most important thing to remember is that Solid Gunk is not special in how the simulation handles it. It participates in standard solid-object mechanics, so its usefulness depends on where it is found, how much of it exists, and whether you need to preserve mass. If you are managing a base around phase changes, keep in mind that solid materials do not remain permanently stable: given enough heat, they will melt, and that can be either a hazard or a tool depending on your design.