Article
Article
Phase equilibrium
Article By:
Scott, Robert L. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California.
Last reviewed:February 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.505500
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- Phase equilibrium, published January 2020:Download PDF
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In physical chemistry, the various situations in which two or more phases (or states of aggregation) can coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium with each other, with the nature of the transitions between phases, and with the effects of temperature and pressure upon these equilibria. Many superficial aspects of the phase equilibrium (Fig. 1) are largely qualitative, for example, the empirical classification of types of phase diagrams; but the basic problems always are susceptible to quantitative thermodynamic treatment, and in many cases, statistical thermodynamic methods can be applied to simple molecular models.
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