Examples
Carbonated water is a supersaturated solution of carbon dioxide gas in water. At the elevated pressure in the bottle, more carbon dioxide can dissolve in water than at atmospheric pressure. At atmospheric pressure, the carbon dioxide gas escapes very slowly from the supersaturated liquid. This process may be accelerated by the presence of nucleation sites within the solution, such as small bubbles, caused by shaking the bottle, or another solute, such as sugar powder or a widget. A Diet Coke and Mentos eruption is a rather extreme example. Some beverage products such as ales and stouts, e.g. Guinness, rely on this effect to produce the 'head' on the surface of the poured product. This has led to the invention of the widget, a device developed to produce enhanced bubble seeding in liquids, especially with dual supersaturated gas phases (carbon dioxide and nitrogen) (see patents by Nicholas Fitzpatrick and Kuzniarski).
Scuba divers' tissues become saturated with breathing gases during a dive. Supersaturation is a theoretical term describing a state in which the tension of a dissolved gas is greater than its inspired partial pressure when the diver ascends, in contrast to Henry's law. If the diver ascends too fast, these gases form bubbles, resulting in decompression sickness. The term was popularized by J.S. Haldane.
In air that is supersaturated, water droplets may precipitate upon being disturbed. This can be observed in a cloud chamber. In the more general context a precipitate may form.
Supersaturated solutions of sugar and water are commonly used to make rock candy.
A supersaturated sodium acetate solution is used in some types of hand warmers.
Read more about this topic: Supersaturation
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