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Surfactants in Solution pp 1525–1535Cite as

Theories of Surface Tension

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Abstract

Theories of surface tension are described, with particular reference to the very low tensions that occur near critical points and tricritical points and at the interfaces with microemulsion phases. The exponents that determine the rate at which interfacial tension vanishes on approach to a critical or tricritical point are discussed, as are the scaling relations that relate the tension to the correlation length, the compressibility (osmotic or mechanical)‚ and the order parameter (difference in density or composition of the coexisting phases). The ideas are illustrated in model systems, including a one-dimensional model in which phase separation is induced by an external field, the two- and three-dimensional Ising (lattice-gas) models, and the Ising model treated in mean-field approximation. The latter is applied also to obtain the orientation profile of amphiphiles AB at the interface between two phases in a three-component system of molecules AA, BB, and AB. The tensions of the interfaces between a middle-phase microemulsion and the oil- and water-rich phases with which it is in equilibrium are discussed, with reference both to experiment and to a model microemulsion that is a modified version of the Talmon-Prager, and de Gennes-Taupin-Jouffroy-Levinson models.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA

    B. Widom

Authors
  1. B. Widom
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. IBM Corporate Technical Institutes, 500 Columbus Ave., Thornwood, NY, 10594, USA

    Kashmiri Lal Mittal M.Sc.(First Class First), Ph.D. (Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and Indian Chemial Society) (Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and Indian Chemial Society)

  2. Centre de Recherches Paul Pascal, Domaine Universitaire, F-33405, Talence Cedex, France

    P. Bothorel (Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bordeaux, Assistant Director, Scientific Director of the GRECO “Microemulsions” (French cooperative action on microemulsions), consultant to the French Oil Company) (Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bordeaux, Assistant Director, Scientific Director of the GRECO “Microemulsions” (French cooperative action on microemulsions), consultant to the French Oil Company)

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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York

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Widom, B. (1986). Theories of Surface Tension. In: Mittal, K.L., Bothorel, P. (eds) Surfactants in Solution. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1833-0_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1833-0_30

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9024-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-1833-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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