Molecular Immobilization

Molecular Immobilization is the magical ability to slow down the molecules of an object to the point where they stop moving completely, therefore "freezing" the object.

Piper Halliwell, a charmed one developed this power in her first year of being a witch. When she first used this power, it could only be activated by Piper panicking or her being scared of something, during which she either flicked her hands and "froze" the target"

Gaining Control
Originally Piper could only freeze objects in the same room as her or that were in her direct line of sight within a certain range, regardless of what room they were in, and the freeze would only last for seconds at a time. When she was outdoors, it was unknown the range of effect that her powers had, but it can be noted that she was able to freeze a truck and a baby stroller moving on the otherside of the street from her front door step, giving her a considerable range.

Over time Piper was able to freeze people and objects on command. Piper was initially scared of her power, considering that she was a jumpy person and could accidentally freeze someone, but as she grew more skilled at using her ability, she could freeze without needing panic as a trigger, could unfreeze a target, could freeze someone for longer, and could freeze or unfreeze desired objects or parts of an enemy without affecting the rest of her surroundings. This power advanced for Piper so much that she was able to almost completely freeze a Triad member. Piper also learned how to freeze good witches, only in special circumstances, something she couldn't do in the beginning of the show.

In the future, Piper accidentally freezes an entire city block; if she tried we don't know how far she could have froze or for how long. Then in Season 2 (Astral Monkey), it was revealed that Piper is able to make her Molecular Immobilization power stay active aslong as she focused. She was able to keep a metal disc frozen by keeping her hands up and mentally focusing.

Becoming more Advanced
Aside from the obvious limits of range the type of being that is to be froze may also affect how well this power works. For example, from the start of the season Piper was not able to freeze good witches or upper level demons. Still over time and as her powers developed she overcame one of these limitations. However, Piper was able to freeze Billie a good witch at one point mid-way through Season 8, mainly because Billie had been partially transformed into a demon and she also froze a member of the Triad whose powers surpass many if not all upper level demons.

However, Piper said that she couldn't freeze them for long and the Triad was clearly starting to unfreeze slightly when she unfroze them herself a minute later. The Triad can freeze people as well, which seems to only affect good magical creatures.

In season 8, Piper uses this more offensivly sometimes, usually in conjunction with her combustion power or demonic attacks. For example, in Still Charmed and Kicking, while disguised as Wyatt, she froze an energy ball in mid-air and then blasted the demon that threw it into the frozen energy ball, which vanquished him. Later, she froze two Triad members and a fireball, and after Paige orbed one in front of the fireball, she unfroze him, vanquishing him and allowing her to vanquish the second one with her Molecular Combustion power.

Correct Term
This is sometimes incorrectly called Temporal Stasis, which means "stopping or balancing the flow of time", although Temporal Stasis is sometimes confused as the actual name for the power (which it is not) it just describes what it does. In the Season 3 episode "Exit Strategy," it was revealed that this power works on a molecular level by taking away kinetic energy from molecules ("slowing them down") to the point where they become motionless and was hence correctly termed "molecular immobilization".

Chronoseizure
This an ability within Molecular Immobilization. This alows the user to unfreeze certain things, within the frozen area. For example: Piper was able to only unfreeze Krell's head, and then before this she was able to only unfreeze Bane Jessup. This ability also entitles the user to freeze another section of things; this would mean if another person entered the room during the freeze, the user could freeze them without unfreezing the entire room, and freezing it again. For example: Piper was able to freeze Jack, and then when Jeff walked she was able to freeze him also, without unfreezing the room.

Personal Gain
In a broad sense throughout the series we see Piper attempt to use this power a number of times for personal gain. When at a beverage supply store, Josh takes the last bottle of Calera Jensen which Piper needs for a coq au vin recipe. She freezes him and is tempted to take it but then decides it's the wrong thing to do. (Is There A Woogy In The House?) Piper used the power to freeze a noises restaurant when she was on a date with Leo (Chick Flick). She also froze a hallway full of people, because they kept touch her stomach, Paige even chastise her for it. (Spin City) Piper also uses the power to freeze regular humans a few times throughout the course of the series rather than for magical threats but most of the time it is so she think things through or prevent accidents, thus it can't be considered personal gain. She also uses this power for sexual purposes mentioned by Leo in Blinded by the Whitelighter and Hell Hate No Fury.