Universality in early-stage growth of phase-separating domains near the critical point
Language
en
Article de revue
This item was published in
Physical Review E : Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics. 2008, vol. 77, n° 5, p. 051118 (13 p.)
American Physical Society
English Abstract
We present both the experimental and computational methods and results of phase-separating experiments performed with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) close to its critical density. These experiments were performed in microgravity ...Read more >
We present both the experimental and computational methods and results of phase-separating experiments performed with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) close to its critical density. These experiments were performed in microgravity to suppress buoyancy and convection-driven effects. Phase separation under reduced gravity is analyzed for both 0.3 mK and 3.6 mK temperature quenches in order to derive the early-stage growth law. We found a 1/3 growth law for early stages of phase separation for a volume fraction of minority domains of 50%. Our findings support the hypothesis of a crossover between Brownian motion and hydrodynamic effects in the early stages of phase separation. The temperature inside the bulk of the pure fluid was estimated using a proposed histogram method. Our histogram method allowed temperature estimation below thermistors' sensitivity and detected small temperature variations inside the bulk of the pure fluid.Read less <
English Keywords
Equilibrium properties
Critical points
Phase transitions
Growth
Microgravity
Tests
Origin
Hal imported