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Problem

The simplest description of liquid-gas interface: a sharp transition

\begin{displaymath}
\rho = 
 \begin{cases}
 \rho_l, & x<0\\  \rho_g, & x\gt
 \end{cases}\end{displaymath}


\begin{figure}
 \psfrag{z}{$x$}
 \psfrag{rho}{$\rho$}
 \includegraphics{sharp}\end{figure}
A more refined version--smooth transition:
\begin{figure}
 \psfrag{z}{$x$}
 \psfrag{rho}{$\rho$}
 \includegraphics{smooth} \end{figure}

Problems:

1.
Calculate the profile $\rho(x)$ and the width of the interface
2.
Calculate the surface tension $\gamma$
3.
What happens as $T\to T_c$?


© 1997 Boris Veytsman and Michael Kotelyanskii
Thu Oct 16 20:58:44 EDT 1997