The Thermodynamics of Critical Phenomena in Fluid Mixtures

Abstract

Abstract The “classical” theory of critical phenomena in fluid mixtures is entirely analogous to that for pure fluids when allowance is made for the increase in the number of variables. Although it is now clear that the details of critical phenomena cannot be accounted for by the “classical” analytic equations, the analogies with one‐component systems continue to apply. In particular, when allowance is made for experimental uncertainties, it is reasonable to conclude that the critical exponents α, β, γ und δ are probably the same as those for the one‐component fluid. While limiting behavior in the critical region disagrees in detail with the predictions of simple theories, the critical line itself and the great variety of phase behavior observed in binary mixtures can be estimated and interpreted with surprising success.