Gibbs-Thomson Equation (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Gibbs-Thomson effect in physics refers to the observation that small crystals of a liquid melt at a lower temperature than the bulk liquid. The melting point depression is inversely proportional to the pore size, as given by the Gibbs-Thomson equation. The technique is closely related to using gas adsorption to measure pore sizes, but uses the Gibbs-Thomson equation rather than the Kelvin equation. They are both particular cases of the Gibbs Equations of Josiah Willard Gibbs: the Kelvin equation is the constant temperature case, and the Gibbs-Thomson equation is the constant pressure case. This behaviour is closely related to the capillary effect and both are due to the change in bulk free energy caused by the curvature of an interfacial surface under tension.