thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws ...

, the binodal, also known as the coexistence curve or binodal curve, denotes the condition at which two distinct phases may coexist. Equivalently, it is the boundary between the set of conditions in which it is thermodynamically favorable for the system to be fully mixed and the set of conditions in which it is thermodynamically favorable for it to phase separate.IUPAC binodal curve definition http://old.iupac.org/goldbook/BT07273.pdf accessed 2/20/13 In general, the binodal is defined by the condition at which the

chemical potential In thermodynamics, the chemical potential of a species is the energy that can be absorbed or released due to a change of the particle number of the given species, e.g. in a chemical reaction or phase transition. The chemical potential of a speci ...

of all solution components is equal in each phase. The extremum of a binodal curve in

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

coincides with the one of the spinodal curve and is known as a critical point.

Binary systems

In binary (two component) mixtures, the binodal can be determined at a given temperature by drawing a tangent line to the free energy.

References

External links

{{States of matter Thermodynamics