Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Protocol for Measuring the Thermal Properties of a Supercooled Synthetic Sand-water-gas-methane Hydrate Sample
Published on: March 21, 2016
Thermodynamic geometry of supercooled water
Helge-Otmar May1, Peter Mausbach2, George Ruppeiner3
1University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt, Germany.
Abstract:
The thermodynamic curvature scalar R is evaluated for supercooled water with a two-state equation of state correlated with the most recent available experimental data. This model assumes a liquid-liquid critical point. Our investigation extends the understanding of the thermodynamic behavior of R considerably. We show that R diverges to -∞ when approaching the assumed liquid-liquid critical point. This limit is consistent with all of the fluid critical point models known so far. In addition, we demonstrate a sign change of R along the liquid-liquid line from negative near the critical point to positive on moving away from the critical point in the low density "ice-like" liquid phase. We also trace out the Widom line in phase space. In addition, we investigate increasing correlation length in supercooled water and compare our results with recent published small angle x-ray scattering measurements.
Related Concept Videos
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...
Entropy
Entropy
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

