Problem Set 2

Critical behavior at the liquid-gas critical point

Use the Van der Waals equation to calculate the critical behavior of:

1) the specific heat $C_{V}$,

2) the isothermal compressibility $\kappa _{T}$, and

3) the reduced density jump $v=|V-V_{c}|/V_{c}$ (across the first order transition line).

Determine the corresponding critical exponents, defined by $v~|T-T_{c}|$