There are implications of ice formation associated with the verb "to freeze" (the OED, for example, includes the following among several definitions of this verb: " Of a liquid, or liquid particles: To be converted into ice."
Because the "to make cold" definition that Tim mentioned is also used, I'd say that using freeze to mean vitrify is not absolutely incorrect, but I nevertheless avoid it, so as to avoid any suggestion that ice may form (perhaps because I'm superstitiously trying to prevent actual ice formation when I cool my crystals, or perhaps to avoid problems with fastidious reviewers such as the one you've encountered). May I suggest "flash-cool"? Pat On 15 Nov 2012, at 12:13 PM, Sebastiano Pasqualato wrote: > > Hi folks, > I have recently received a comment on a paper, in which referee #1 (excellent > referee, btw!) commented like this: > > "crystals were vitrified rather than frozen." > > These were crystals grew in ca. 2.5 M sodium malonate, directly dip in liquid > nitrogen prior to data collection at 100 K. > We stated in the methods section that crystals were "frozen in liquid > nitrogen", as I always did. > > After a little googling it looks like I've always been wrong, and what we are > always doing is doing is actually vitrifying the crystals. > Should I always use this statement, from now on, or are there english/physics > subtleties that I'm not grasping? > > Thanks a lot, > ciao, > s > > > -- > Sebastiano Pasqualato, PhD > Crystallography Unit > Department of Experimental Oncology > European Institute of Oncology > IFOM-IEO Campus > via Adamello, 16 > 20139 - Milano > Italy > > tel +39 02 9437 5167 > fax +39 02 9437 5990 > > please note the change in email address! > sebastiano.pasqual...@ieo.eu > > > > > > >
