Effects of Critical Fluctuations on the Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of Supercritical Fluids

Abstract

Systems in the vicinity of a critical point exhibit long-range fluctuations in the order parameter associated with the critical phase transition. Specifically, long-range density fluctuations are present in solvents in the critical region. These critical fluctuations not only cause singular behavior of the thermodynamic and transport properties at the critical point, but also affect these properties in a substantial range of temperatures and densities around the critical point. Attempts to deal with the effects of critical fluctuations on the thermodynamic and transport properties of supercritical fluids are discussed.