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Experimental verification of morphological instability in freezing aqueous colloidal suspensions
S S L Peppin1, J S Wettlaufer, M G Worster
1Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Abstract:
We describe an experimental test of a new theory of the unidirectional freezing of aqueous colloidal suspensions. At low freezing speeds a planar ice lens completely rejects the particles, forming a steady-state compacted boundary layer in the liquid region. At higher speeds the planar interface becomes thermodynamically unstable and breaks down geometrically to trap bulk regions of colloid within. The theoretical stability threshold is determined experimentally, thereby demonstrating that colloidal suspensions can be treated analogously to atomic or molecular alloys.
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The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which its vapor pressure is equal to ambient atmospheric pressure. Since the vapor pressure of a solution is lowered due to the presence of nonvolatile solutes, it stands to reason that the solution’s boiling point will subsequently be increased. Vapor pressure increases with temperature, and so a solution will require a higher temperature than will pure solvent to achieve any given vapor pressure, including one...

