Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

A Rapid Synthesis Method for Au, Pd, and Pt Aerogels Via Direct Solution-Based Reduction
Published on: June 18, 2018
Helium condensation in aerogel: avalanches and disorder-induced phase transition
F Detcheverry1, E Kierlik, M L Rosinberg
1Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de la Matière Condensée, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Abstract:
We present a detailed numerical study of the elementary condensation events (avalanches) associated to the adsorption of in silica aerogels. We use a coarse-grained lattice-gas description and determine the nonequilibrium behavior of the adsorbed gas within a local mean-field analysis, neglecting thermal fluctuations and activated processes. We investigate the statistical properties of the avalanches, such as their number, size and shape along the adsorption isotherms as a function of gel porosity, temperature, and chemical potential. Our calculations predict the existence of a line of critical points in the temperature-porosity diagram where the avalanche size distribution displays a power-law behavior and the adsorption isotherms have a universal scaling form. The estimated critical exponents seem compatible with those of the field-driven random field Ising model at zero temperature.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
States of Matter and Phase Changes
Noble Gases
The elements in group 18 are noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon). They earned the name “noble” because they were assumed to be nonreactive since they have filled valence shells. In 1962, Dr. Neil Bartlett at the University of British Columbia proved this assumption to be false.
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...

