Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures
Published on: May 20, 2014
Free-energy landscape for a tagged particle in a dense hard-sphere fluid
Takashi Yoshidome1, Takashi Odagaki, Akira Yoshimori
1Department of Physics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. t-yoshidome@iae.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Exploiting the thermodynamic potential functional provided by density functional theory, we determine analytically the free-energy landscape (FEL) in a hard-sphere fluid. The FEL is represented in the three-dimensional coordinate space of the tagged particle. We also analyze the distribution of the free-energy barrier between adjacent basins and show that the most provable value and the average of the free-energy barrier are increasing functions of the density. Since the size of the cooperatively rearranging region (CRR) is also increased as the density is raised [Yoshidome, Phys. Rev. E 76, 021506 (2007)], the present result is consistent with the Adam-Gibbs theory in which the increase of the activation energy is due to the increase of the size of the CRR.
Related Concept Videos
Energy Diagrams - II
The point in the energy diagram at which the system’s potential energy is the lowest is known as the local minima. The system tends to stay in this position indefinitely unless acted upon by a net force. The slope of the potential energy diagram at the local minima is zero, indicating that zero net force is acting on the system. The slope...
Energy Diagrams - I
Take the example of a skater on a parabolic ramp. The potential energy at different points along the ramp will be proportional to the height of the ramp, which varies quadratically with the horizontal position on the ramp. As the skater moves down the ramp from the highest position,...
Equilibrium Conditions for a Particle
To understand the concept of equilibrium, let us first consider the forces acting on an object. When different forces act on an object, they can...
Gibbs Free Energy
Electric Field of a Non Uniformly Charged Sphere
Consider a non-uniformly charged sphere, for which the density of charge depends only on the distance from a point in space and not on the direction. Such a sphere has a spherically symmetrical charge distribution. Here, the electric...
Calculating Standard Free Energy Changes

