Abstract
The ideal phase transition in superconductors is analysed in such a way as to examine the connection between the two types of second-order phase change which are mathematically possible, viz. those associated with a finite length of transition line, and those confined to a singular point on a transition line which is elsewhere of first order. It is concluded (i) that the latter category of second-order transition appears only as a somewhat trivial case of the former, (ii) that it is very doubtful whether points of second-order equilibrium really exist in isolation. The discussion also shows how the superconducting phenomenon provides a good example of the existence of first-order transitions possessing volume discontinuities which are exceedingly small, but non-zero; this circumstance allows an Ehrenfest-type second-order phase change to be regarded as the limiting case of a first-order transition.
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