Phase transitions

Changes of state brought about by a change in an intensive variable (for example, temperature or pressure) of a system. Some familiar examples of phase transitions are the gas-liquid transition (condensation), the liquid-solid transition (freezing), the normal-to-superconducting transition in electrical conductors, the paramagnet-to-ferromagnet transition in magnetic materials, and the superfluid transition in liquid helium. Further examples include transitions involving amorphous or glassy structures, spin glasses, charge-density waves, and spin-density waves. See Amorphous solid, Charge-density wave, Spin-density wave, Spin glass, Superconductivity, Superfluidity

Typically the phase transition is brought about by a change in the temperature of the system. The temperature at which the change of state occurs is called transition temperature (usually denoted by T_c). For example, the liquid-solid transition occurs at the freezing point.

The two phases above and below the phase transition can be distinguished from each other in terms of some ordering that takes place in the phase below the transition temperature. For example, in the liquid-solid transition, the molecules of the liquid get “ordered” in space when they form the solid phase. In a paramagnet, the magnetic moments on the individual atoms can point in any direction (in the absence of an internal magnetic field), but in the ferromagnetic phase the moments are lined up along a particular direction, which is then the direction of ordering. Thus in the phase above the transition, the degree of ordering is smaller than in the phase below the transition. One measure of the amount of disorder in a system is its entropy, which is the negative of the first derivative of the thermodynamic free energy with respect to temperature. When a system possesses more order, the entropy is lower. Thus at the transition temperature the entropy of the system changes from a higher value above the transition to some lower value below the transition. See Entropy, Ferromagnetism, Paramagnetism

This change in entropy can be continuous or discontinuous at the transition temperature. In other words, the development of order in the system at the transition temperature can be gradual or abrupt. This leads to a convenient classification of phase transitions into two types, namely, discontinuous and continuous.

Discontinuous transitions involve a discontinuous change in the entropy at the transition temperature. A familiar example of this type of transition is the freezing of water into ice. As water reaches the freezing point, order develops without any change in temperature. Thus there is a discontinuous decrease in the entropy at the freezing point. This is characterized by the amount of latent heat that must be extracted from the water for it to be “ordered” into the solid phase (ice). Discontinuous transitions are also called first-order transitions.

In a continuous transition, entropy changes continuously, and hence the growth of order below T_c is also continuous. There is no latent heat involved in a continuous transition. Continuous transitions are also called second-order transitions. The paramagnet-to-ferromagnet transition in magnetic materials is an example of such a transition.

The degree of ordering in a system undergoing a phase transition can be made quantitative in terms of an order parameter. At temperatures above the transition temperature the order parameter has a value zero, and below the transition it acquires some nonzero value. For example, in a ferromagnet the order parameter is the magnetic moment per unit volume (in the absence of an externally applied magnetic field). It is zero in the paramagnetic state since the individual magnetic moments in the solid may point in any random direction. Below the transition temperature, however, there exists a preferred direction of ordering, and as the temperature is lowered below T_c, more and more individual magnetic moments start to align along the preferred direction of ordering, leading to a continuous growth of the magnetization or the macroscopic magnetic moment per unit volume in the ferromagnetic state. Thus the order parameter changes continuously from zero above to some nonzero value below the transition temperature. In a first-order transition, the order parameter would change discontinuously at the transition temperature.

单词	phase transitions
释义	DictionarySeephase transition Phase transitions Phase transitions Changes of state brought about by a change in an intensive variable (for example, temperature or pressure) of a system. Some familiar examples of phase transitions are the gas-liquid transition (condensation), the liquid-solid transition (freezing), the normal-to-superconducting transition in electrical conductors, the paramagnet-to-ferromagnet transition in magnetic materials, and the superfluid transition in liquid helium. Further examples include transitions involving amorphous or glassy structures, spin glasses, charge-density waves, and spin-density waves. See Amorphous solid, Charge-density wave, Spin-density wave, Spin glass, Superconductivity, Superfluidity Typically the phase transition is brought about by a change in the temperature of the system. The temperature at which the change of state occurs is called transition temperature (usually denoted by T_c). For example, the liquid-solid transition occurs at the freezing point. The two phases above and below the phase transition can be distinguished from each other in terms of some ordering that takes place in the phase below the transition temperature. For example, in the liquid-solid transition, the molecules of the liquid get “ordered” in space when they form the solid phase. In a paramagnet, the magnetic moments on the individual atoms can point in any direction (in the absence of an internal magnetic field), but in the ferromagnetic phase the moments are lined up along a particular direction, which is then the direction of ordering. Thus in the phase above the transition, the degree of ordering is smaller than in the phase below the transition. One measure of the amount of disorder in a system is its entropy, which is the negative of the first derivative of the thermodynamic free energy with respect to temperature. When a system possesses more order, the entropy is lower. Thus at the transition temperature the entropy of the system changes from a higher value above the transition to some lower value below the transition. See Entropy, Ferromagnetism, Paramagnetism This change in entropy can be continuous or discontinuous at the transition temperature. In other words, the development of order in the system at the transition temperature can be gradual or abrupt. This leads to a convenient classification of phase transitions into two types, namely, discontinuous and continuous. Discontinuous transitions involve a discontinuous change in the entropy at the transition temperature. A familiar example of this type of transition is the freezing of water into ice. As water reaches the freezing point, order develops without any change in temperature. Thus there is a discontinuous decrease in the entropy at the freezing point. This is characterized by the amount of latent heat that must be extracted from the water for it to be “ordered” into the solid phase (ice). Discontinuous transitions are also called first-order transitions. In a continuous transition, entropy changes continuously, and hence the growth of order below T_c is also continuous. There is no latent heat involved in a continuous transition. Continuous transitions are also called second-order transitions. The paramagnet-to-ferromagnet transition in magnetic materials is an example of such a transition. The degree of ordering in a system undergoing a phase transition can be made quantitative in terms of an order parameter. At temperatures above the transition temperature the order parameter has a value zero, and below the transition it acquires some nonzero value. For example, in a ferromagnet the order parameter is the magnetic moment per unit volume (in the absence of an externally applied magnetic field). It is zero in the paramagnetic state since the individual magnetic moments in the solid may point in any random direction. Below the transition temperature, however, there exists a preferred direction of ordering, and as the temperature is lowered below T_c, more and more individual magnetic moments start to align along the preferred direction of ordering, leading to a continuous growth of the magnetization or the macroscopic magnetic moment per unit volume in the ferromagnetic state. Thus the order parameter changes continuously from zero above to some nonzero value below the transition temperature. In a first-order transition, the order parameter would change discontinuously at the transition temperature.
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