Abstract
Gravity on earth limits the study of the gas-liquid critical point of pure fluids: the compressibility diverges, the fluid becomes stratified under its own weight and a bulk sample at its critical point cannot be obtained. Heating and cooling of near-critical fluids causes severe and prolonged convective instabilities as a consequence of the divergence of the expansibility. Studies on phase separation processes are similarly affected by convection and sedimentation.
A number of experimental investigations have taken advantage of the availability of a microgravity environment to overcome these limitations. They are reviewed in this paper and future prospects are assessed. Microgravity studies having the following objectives are justifiable: (i) testing of theoretical predictions and resolving discrepancies between predictions and experiment; (ii) understanding the mechanisms which precede the attainment of equilibrium near the critical point; (iii) evidencing the processes during phase separations when gravity-driven instabilities are eliminated; (iv) understanding the interfacial phenomena in reduced gravity and (v) understanding the physical chemistry of electrolyte solutions in compressible solvents.
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© 1987 European Space Agency, Paris Cedex, France
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Beysens, D., Straub, J., Turner, D.J. (1987). Phase Transitions and Near-Critical Phenomena. In: Walter, H.U. (eds) Fluid Sciences and Materials Science in Space. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-46613-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-46613-7_7
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