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Liquidons and gasons; controversies about the continuity of states

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  • Levelt Sengers, J.M.H.

Abstract

Two basic ideas about the nature of the gas-liquid transition were voiced around 1870: that in the supercritical state, vapor and liquid are indistinguishable (Andrews), and that condensation and critical behavior can be understood on the basis of a simple assumption about molecular interaction (Van der Waals). For many scientists at that time, however, the notion of continuity of states was almost inconceivable. The older ideas, that liquid and gas molecules were different from each other, and that the liquid “dissolves” in the vapor at the critical point, survived for a long time. Unfamiliarity with the implications of Gibbs' thermodynamics in Europe helped to keep the older ideas alive. This paper describes the controversies that raged between proponents and opponents of the Andrews-Van der Waals view between 1880 and 1907, and how they were fanned by erroneous or incorrectly interpreted experiments carried out all over Europe. Kamerlingh Onnes and his staff in Leiden repeated a number of the controversial experiments in the period 1892–1907 and discovered that impurity was by far the largest source of error. By 1907 the controversy was unequivocally decided by the Leiden group in favor of the Andrews-Van der Waals view. A replay of the old controversy took place in the period 1933–1952.

Suggested Citation

  • Levelt Sengers, J.M.H., 1979. "Liquidons and gasons; controversies about the continuity of states," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 98(3), pages 363-402.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:98:y:1979:i:3:p:363-402
    DOI: 10.1016/0378-4371(79)90145-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Morita, T. & Sato, H. & Uematsu, M. & Watanabe, K., 1989. "PVT properties and vapor-pressures of ordinary water substance in the critical region," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 156(1), pages 436-453.
    2. Kestin, J. & Korfali, Ö. & Sengers, J.V., 1980. "Density expansion of the viscosity of carbon dioxide near the critical temperature," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 335-348.
    3. Nieuwoudt, J.C. & Sengers, J.V., 1987. "Frequency dependence of transport properties of fluids near the critical point," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 147(1), pages 368-386.
    4. Diller, Dwain E. & Saber, John M., 1981. "Measurements of the viscosity of compressed gaseous and liquid ethane," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 143-152.
    5. Clerke, E.A. & Sengers, J.V., 1983. "Fast pressure quenches near the critical point of a binary liquid mixture," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 360-370.
    6. Sengers, J.V. & Van Leeuwen, J.M.J., 1982. "Nonlocal gravity-induced density profiles in gases near the critical point," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 116(3), pages 345-367.
    7. Tracy, Craig A. & Widom, Harold, 1997. "On exact solutions to the cylindrical Poisson-Boltzmann equation with applications to polyelectrolytes," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 244(1), pages 402-413.

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