303 research outputs found
Spacelab experiment definition study on phase transition and critical phenomena in fluids: Interim report on experimental justification
Pure fluids and fluid mixtures near critical points are identified and are related to the progress of several disciplines. Consideration is given to thermodynamic properties, transport properties, and the complex nonlinear phenomena which occur when fluids undergo phase transitions in the critical region. The distinction is made between practical limits which may be extended by advances in technology and intrinsic ones which arise from the modification of fluid properties by the earth's gravitational field. The kinds of experiments near critical points which could best exploit the low gravity environment of an orbiting laboratory are identified. These include studies of the index of refraction, constant volume specific heat, and phase separation
Viscosity of Xenon Examined in Microgravity
Why does water flow faster than honey? The short answer, that honey has a greater viscosity, merely rephrases the question. The fundamental answer is that viscosity originates in the interactions between a fluid s molecules. These interactions are so complicated that, except for low-density gases, the viscosity of a fluid cannot be accurately predicted. Progress in understanding viscosity has been made by studying moderately dense gases and, more recently, fluids near the critical point. Modern theories predict a universal behavior for all pure fluids near the liquid-vapor critical point, and they relate the increase in viscosity to spontaneous fluctuations in density near this point. The Critical Viscosity of Xenon (CVX) experiment tested these theories with unprecedented precision when it flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-85) in August 1997. Near the critical point, xenon is a billion times more compressible than water, yet it has about the same density. Because the fluid is so "soft," it collapses under its own weight when exposed to the force of Earth s gravity - much like a very soft spring. Because the CVX experiment is conducted in microgravity, it achieves a very uniform fluid density even very close to the critical point. At the heart of the CVX experiment is a novel viscometer built around a small nickel screen. An oscillating electric field forces the screen to oscillate between pairs of electrodes. Viscosity, which dampens the oscillations, can be calculated by measuring the screen motion and the force applied to the screen. So that the fluid s delicate state near the critical point will not be disrupted, the screen oscillations are set to be both slow and small
Phase-separation of miscible liquids in a centrifuge
We show that a liquid mixture in the thermodynamically stable homogeneous
phase can undergo a phase-separation transition when rotated at sufficiently
high frequency . This phase-transition is different from the usual case
where two liquids are immiscible or where the slow sedimentation process of one
component (e.g. a polymer) is accelerated due to centrifugation. For a binary
mixture, the main coupling is due to a term ,
where is the difference between the two liquid densities and
the distance from the rotation axis. Below the critical temperature there is a
critical rotation frequency , below which smooth density gradients
occur. When , we find a sharp interface between the low
density liquid close to the center of the centrifuge and a high density liquid
far from the center. These findings may be relevant to various separation
processes and to the control of chemical reactions, in particular their
kinetics.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Shear Thinning in Xenon
We measured shear thinning, a viscosity decrease ordinarily associated with complex liquids such as molten plastics or ketchup, near the critical point of xenon. The data span a wide range of dimensionless shear rate: the product of the shear rate and the relaxation time of critical fluctuations was greater than 0.001 and was less than 700. As predicted by theory, shear thinning occurred when this product was greater than 1. The measurements were conducted aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia to avoid the density stratification caused by Earth's gravity
Dielectric permittivity of eight gases measured with cross capacitors
A four-ring, toroidal cross capacitor was used to measure accurately the relative dielectric permittivity e(p, T) of He, Ar, N 2 , O 2 , CH 4 , C 2 H 6 , C 3 H 8 , and CO 2 . (e is often called the ''dielectric constant.'') The data are in the range from 0 to 50°C and, in many cases, extend up to 7 MPa. The accurate measurement of e(p, T) required a good understanding of the deformation of the gas-filled capacitors with applied pressure. This understanding was tested in two ways. , demonstrating that the four-ring cross capacitor deformed as predicted. Second, e(p, T) of argon was measured simultaneously on three isotherms using two capacitors: the four-ring capacitor, and a 16-rod cross capacitor made using different materials and a different geometry. The results for the two capacitors are completely consistent, within the specifications of the capacitance bridge. There was a small inconsistency that was equivalent to 1 × 10 −6 of the measured capacitances, or, for argon, 3 × 10 A e , where A e is the zero-density limit of the molar polarizability^-(e − 1)/ [(e+2) r]
Singular Coexistence-curve Diameters: Experiments and Simulations
Precise calculations of the coexistence-curve diameters of a hard-core
square-we ll (HCSW) fluid and the restricted primitive model (RPM) electrolyte
exhibit mar ked deviations from rectilinear behavior. The HCSW diameter
displays a singularity that sets in sharply for ; this compares favorably with extensive data for
, also reflec ted in CH, N, etc. By contrast, the curvature
of the RPM diameter va ries slowly over a wide range ; this
behavior mirrors observati ons for liquid alkali metals, specifically Rb and
Cs. Amplitudes for the leading singular terms can be estimated numerically but
their values cannot be taken li terally.Comment: 9 pages and 4 figure
Numerical Investigation of the Interface Tension in the three-dimensional Ising Model
The interface tension in the three-dimensional Ising model in the low
temperature phase is investigated by means of the Monte Carlo method. Together
with other physically relevant quantities it is obtained from a calculation of
time-slice correlation functions in a cylindrical geometry. The results at
three different values of the temperature are compared with the predictions
from a semiclassical approximation in the framework of renormalized
theory in three dimensions, and are in good agreement with them.Comment: 17 pages, MS-TPI-92-13 (replaced due to correction of minor numerical
errors
Properties of Interfaces in the two and three dimensional Ising Model
To investigate order-order interfaces, we perform multimagnetical Monte Carlo
simulations of the and Ising model. Following Binder we extract the
interfacial free energy from the infinite volume limit of the magnetic
probability density. Stringent tests of the numerical methods are performed by
reproducing with high precision exact results. In the physically more
interesting case we estimate the amplitude of the critical
interfacial tension to be . This
result is in good agreement with a previous MC calculation by Mon, as well as
with experimental results for related amplitude ratios. In addition, we study
in some details the shape of the magnetic probability density for temperatures
below the Curie point.Comment: 25 pages; sorry no figures include
Interfacial Tensions near Critical Endpoints: Experimental Checks of EdGF Theory
Predictions of the extended de Gennes-Fisher local-functional theory for the
universal scaling functions of interfacial tensions near critical endpoints are
compared with experimental data. Various observations of the binary mixture
isobutyric acid water are correlated to facilitate an analysis of the
experiments of Nagarajan, Webb and Widom who observed the vapor-liquid
interfacial tension as a function of {\it both} temperature and density.
Antonow's rule is confirmed and, with the aid of previously studied {\it
universal amplitude ratios}, the crucial analytic ``background'' contribution
to the surface tension near the endpoint is estimated. The residual singular
behavior thus uncovered is consistent with the theoretical scaling predictions
and confirms the expected lack of symmetry in . A searching test of
theory, however, demands more precise and extensive experiments; furthermore,
the analysis highlights, a previously noted but surprising, three-fold
discrepancy in the magnitude of the surface tension of isobutyric acid
water relative to other systems.Comment: 6 figure
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