The Effect of Surfactants on Equilibrium Wetting

Contact angles B0 of aqueous solutions contacting with hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces were studied as affected by various surfactants (alcohols, fatty acids, soaps) under conditions close to thermodynamic equilibrium (in the atmosphere saturated with the solution vapour). The conditions of transitions from limited wetting (Bo > 0) to complete wetting, i.e. spontaneous spreading were also studied. The effect of surfactants adsorption at the solid gas interface was estimated from the isotherms of wetting tension W = cr1g Cos B0 (cr1g is the surface tension of the solution) on the basis of equation describing W as a function of concentration. It is shown that adsorption of surfactants at the solid-gas interface markedly affects wetting of hydrophilic materials. For hydrophobic materials the effect is primarily due to adsorption of surfactants at the solid- solution and solution-gas interfaces. It was found that equilibrium wetting is affected by the type of adsorption at the solid surface (physical or chemical adsorption). The influence of hydrocarbon chain length in homological series of alcohols and fatty acids on equilibrium contact angles and on transition to spontaneous spreading was studied as well

Probability Theory Compatible with the New Conception of Modern Thermodynamics. Economics and Crisis of Debts

We show that G\"odel's negative results concerning arithmetic, which date back to the 1930s, and the ancient "sand pile" paradox (known also as "sorites paradox") pose the questions of the use of fuzzy sets and of the effect of a measuring device on the experiment. The consideration of these facts led, in thermodynamics, to a new one-parameter family of ideal gases. In turn, this leads to a new approach to probability theory (including the new notion of independent events). As applied to economics, this gives the correction, based on Friedman's rule, to Irving Fisher's "Main Law of Economics" and enables us to consider the theory of debt crisis.Comment: 48p., 14 figs., 82 refs.; more precise mathematical explanations are added. arXiv admin note: significant text overlap with arXiv:1111.610

Mathematical Conception of "Phenomenological" Equilibrium Thermodynamics

In the paper, the principal aspects of the mathematical theory of equilibrium thermodynamics are distinguished. It is proved that the points of degeneration of a Bose gas of fractal dimension in the momentum space coincide with critical points or real gases, whereas the jumps of critical indices and the Maxwell rule are related to the tunnel generalization of thermodynamics. Semiclassical methods are considered for the tunnel generalization of thermodynamics and also for the second and ultrasecond quantization (operators of creation and annihilation of pairs). To every pure gas there corresponds a new critical point of the limit negative pressure below which the liquid passes to a dispersed state (a foam). Relations for critical points of a homogeneous mixture of pure gases are given in dependence on the concentration of gases.Comment: 37 pages, 9 figure, more precise explanations, more references. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1202.525