Tiivistys

Tiivistys is a Finnish noun that denotes the act or result of making something denser, more compact, or more concentrated. It has several related meanings depending on the context, and it can refer to physical processes as well as abstract or figurative condensation.

In the sciences, tiivistys often refers to condensation, the process by which a gas becomes a liquid, typically through cooling or increased pressure. The term is used to describe the change in state that leads to a denser phase. Related concepts include densification and compression, where a material or substance is made more compact, sometimes through mechanical pressure or industrial processing.

In materials science and engineering, tiivistys commonly denotes densification of powders or porous materials. Techniques such as pressing, cold or hot isostatic pressing, and sintering reduce porosity and increase density to improve strength and stability of the material. The term can also appear in discussions of sealant applications, where tiivistys describes the sealing of joints or gaps to prevent leakage of liquids or gases.

In information processing and communication, tiivistys refers to condensation of information, i.e., summarization or condensation of content. Verbs such as tiivistää—and the noun tiivistys—describe reducing a text or dataset to its essential points, often using extractive or abstractive methods.

Etymologically, tiivistys derives from the Finnish root tiivis, meaning dense or compact, with the suffix -ys marking the action or process. The exact sense of tiivistys is chosen to fit the domain, from physical condensation and material densification to informational summarization and sealing practices.