Phase Separation
Phase separation is the creation of two distinct phases from a single homogeneous mixture. The most common type of phase separation is between two immiscible liquids, such as oil and water. Colloids are formed by phase separation, though not all phase separations forms colloids - for example oil and water can form separated layers under gravity rather than remaining as microscopic droplets in suspension. Phase separation in cold gases A mixture of two helium isotopes (helium-3 and helium-4) in a certain range of temperatures and concentrations separates into parts. The initial mix of the two isotopes spontaneously separates into ^He-rich and ^3He-rich regions. Phase separation also exists in ultracold gas systems. It has been shown experimentally in a two-component ultracold Fermi gas case. The phase separation can compete with other phenomena as vortex lattice formation or an exotic Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase. See also * Biomolecular condensate * Collo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Phase Separation Janus Particles
Phase or phases may refer to: Science *State of matter, or phase, one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist *Phase (matter), a region of space throughout which all physical properties are essentially uniform *Phase space, a mathematical space in which each possible state of a physical system is represented by a point — this equilibrium point is also referred to as a "microscopic state" **Phase space formulation, a formulation of quantum mechanics in phase space *Phase (waves), the position of a point in time (an instant) on a waveform cycle **Instantaneous phase, generalization for both cyclic and non-cyclic phenomena * AC phase, the phase offset between alternating current electric power in multiple conducting wires **Single-phase electric power, distribution of AC electric power in a system where the voltages of the supply vary in unison **Three-phase electric power, a common method of AC electric power generation, transmission, and distribution *Phase problem, the l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fermi Gas
An ideal Fermi gas is a state of matter which is an ensemble of many non-interacting fermions. Fermions are particles that obey Fermi–Dirac statistics, like electrons, protons, and neutrons, and, in general, particles with half-integer spin. These statistics determine the energy distribution of fermions in a Fermi gas in thermal equilibrium, and is characterized by their number density, temperature, and the set of available energy states. The model is named after the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi. This physical model can be accurately applied to many systems with many fermions. Some key examples are the behaviour of charge carriers in a metal, nucleons in an atomic nucleus, neutrons in a neutron star, and electrons in a white dwarf. Description An ideal Fermi gas or free Fermi gas is a physical model assuming a collection of non-interacting fermions in a constant potential well. Fermions are elementary or composite particles with half-integer spin, thus follow Fermi-Dira ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Equilibrium Chemistry
Equilibrium chemistry is concerned with systems in chemical equilibrium. The unifying principle is that the free energy of a system at equilibrium is the minimum possible, so that the slope of the free energy with respect to the reaction coordinate is zero. This principle, applied to mixtures at equilibrium provides a definition of an equilibrium constant. Applications include acid–base, host–guest, metal–complex, solubility, partition, chromatography and redox equilibria. Thermodynamic equilibrium A chemical system is said to be in equilibrium when the quantities of the chemical entities involved do not and ''cannot'' change in time without the application of an external influence. In this sense a system in chemical equilibrium is in a stable state. The system at chemical equilibrium will be at a constant temperature, pressure or volume and a composition. It will be insulated from exchange of heat with the surroundings, that is, it is a closed system. A change of te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cahn–Hilliard Equation
The Cahn–Hilliard equation (after John W. Cahn and John E. Hilliard) is an equation of mathematical physics which describes the process of phase separation, by which the two components of a binary fluid spontaneously separate and form domains pure in each component. If c is the concentration of the fluid, with c=\pm1 indicating domains, then the equation is written as :\frac = D\nabla^2\left(c^3-c-\gamma\nabla^2 c\right), where D is a diffusion coefficient with units of \text^2/\text and \sqrt gives the length of the transition regions between the domains. Here \partial/ is the partial time derivative and \nabla^2 is the Laplacian in n dimensions. Additionally, the quantity \mu = c^3-c-\gamma\nabla^2 c is identified as a chemical potential. Related to it is the Allen–Cahn equation, as well as the stochastic Cahn–Hilliard Equation and the stochastic Allen–Cahn equation. Features and applications Of interest to mathematicians is the existence of a unique solution of th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spinodal Decomposition
Spinodal decomposition is a mechanism by which a single thermodynamic phase spontaneously separates into two phases (without nucleation). Decomposition occurs when there is no thermodynamic barrier to phase separation. As a result, phase separation via decomposition does not require the nucleation events resulting from thermodynamic fluctuations, which normally trigger phase separation. Spinodal decomposition is observed when mixtures of metals or polymers separate into two co-existing phases, each rich in one species and poor in the other. When the two phases emerge in approximately equal proportion (each occupying about the same volume or area), characteristic intertwined structures are formed that gradually coarsen (see animation). The dynamics of spinodal decomposition is commonly modeled using the Cahn–Hilliard equation. Spinodal decomposition is fundamentally different from nucleation and growth. When there is a nucleation barrier to the formation of a second phase, time i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Phase Diagram
A phase diagram in physical chemistry, engineering, mineralogy, and materials science is a type of chart used to show conditions (pressure, temperature, volume, etc.) at which thermodynamically distinct phases (such as solid, liquid or gaseous states) occur and coexist at equilibrium. Overview Common components of a phase diagram are ''lines of equilibrium'' or ''phase boundaries'', which refer to lines that mark conditions under which multiple phases can coexist at equilibrium. Phase transitions occur along lines of equilibrium. Metastable phases are not shown in phase diagrams as, despite their common occurrence, they are not equilibrium phases. Triple points are points on phase diagrams where lines of equilibrium intersect. Triple points mark conditions at which three different phases can coexist. For example, the water phase diagram has a triple point corresponding to the single temperature and pressure at which solid, liquid, and gaseous water can coexist in a stabl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Biomolecular Condensate
In biochemistry, biomolecular condensates are a class of membrane-less organelles and organelle subdomains, which carry out specialized functions within the cell. Unlike many organelles, biomolecular condensate composition is not controlled by a bounding membrane. Instead, condensates can form and maintain organization through a range of different processes, the most well-known of which is phase separation of proteins, RNA and other biopolymers into either colloidal emulsions, gels, liquid crystals, solid crystals or aggregates within cells. History Micellar theory The micellar theory of Carl Nägeli was developed from his detailed study of starch granules in 1858. Amorphous substances such as starch and cellulose were proposed to consist of building blocks, packed in a loosely crystalline array to form what he later termed “micelles”. Water could penetrate between the micelles, and new micelles could form in the interstices between old micelles. The swelling of st ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov Phase
The Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov (FFLO) phase (also occasionally called the Larkin–Ovchinnikov–Fulde–Ferrell phase, or LOFF) can arise in a superconductor in large magnetic field. Among its characteristics are Cooper pairs with nonzero total momentum and a spatially non-uniform order parameter, leading to normal conducting areas in the superconductor. History Two independent publications in 1964, one by Peter Fulde and Richard A. Ferrell and the other by Anatoly Larkin and Yuri Ovchinnikov, theoretically predicted a new state appearing in a certain regime of superconductors at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields. This particular superconducting state is nowadays known as the Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov state, abbreviated FFLO state (also LOFF state). Since then, experimental observations of the FFLO state have been searched for in different classes of superconducting materials, first in thin films and later in exotic superconductors such as he ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quantum Vortex
In physics, a quantum vortex represents a quantized flux circulation of some physical quantity. In most cases, quantum vortices are a type of topological defect exhibited in superfluids and superconductors. The existence of quantum vortices was first predicted by Lars Onsager in 1949 in connection with superfluid helium. Onsager reasoned that quantisation of vorticity is a direct consequence of the existence of a superfluid order parameter as a spatially continuous wavefunction. Onsager also pointed out that quantum vortices describe the circulation of superfluid and conjectured that their excitations are responsible for superfluid phase transitions. These ideas of Onsager were further developed by Richard Feynman in 1955 and in 1957 were applied to describe the magnetic phase diagram of type-II superconductors by Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov. In 1935 Fritz London published a very closely related work on magnetic flux quantization in superconductors. London's fluxoid can also be vie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ultracold Atom
Ultracold atoms are atoms that are maintained at temperatures close to 0 kelvin (absolute zero), typically below several tens of microkelvin (µK). At these temperatures the atom's quantum-mechanical properties become important. To reach such low temperatures, a combination of several techniques typically has to be used. First, atoms are usually trapped and pre-cooled via laser cooling in a magneto-optical trap. To reach the lowest possible temperature, further cooling is performed using evaporative cooling in a magnetic or optical trap. Several Nobel prizes in physics are related to the development of the techniques to manipulate quantum properties of individual atoms (e.g. 1995-1997, 2001, 2005, 2012, 2017). Experiments with ultracold atoms study a variety of phenomena, including quantum phase transitions, Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC), bosonic superfluidity, quantum magnetism, many-body spin dynamics, Efimov states, Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) superfluidity and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Olive Oil With Balsamic Vinegar
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'Montra', dwarf olive, or little olive. The species is cultivated in all the countries of the Mediterranean, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and South Africa. ''Olea europaea'' is the type species for the genus ''Olea''. The olive's fruit, also called an "olive", is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil; it is one of the core ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine. The tree and its fruit give their name to the plant family, which also includes species such as lilac, jasmine, forsythia, and the true ash tree. Thousands of cultivars of the olive tree are known. Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption are gener ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Helium-4
Helium-4 () is a stable isotope of the element helium. It is by far the more abundant of the two naturally occurring isotopes of helium, making up about 99.99986% of the helium on Earth. Its nucleus is identical to an alpha particle, and consists of two protons and two neutrons. Alpha decay of heavy elements in the Earth's crust is the source of most naturally occurring helium-4 on Earth, produced after the planet cooled and solidified. While it is also produced by nuclear fusion in stars, most helium-4 in the Sun and in the universe is thought to have been produced by the Big Bang, and is referred to as " primordial helium". However, primordial helium-4 is largely absent from the Earth, having escaped during the high-temperature phase of Earth's formation. Helium-4 makes up about one quarter of the ordinary matter in the universe by mass, with almost all of the rest being hydrogen. When liquid helium-4 is cooled to below , it becomes a superfluid, with properties that are ver ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |