Educ. Reso. for Part. Techn. 051Q-Nelson
<http://www.erpt.org/051Q/Nelsd-00.htm>
Copyright © 2005 Ralph Nelson, Licensed to ERPT

Surface Thermodynamics

[Dispersing Powders in Liquids, Part 4]

by Ralph D. Nelson, Jr., PhD, PE DuPont Co. (retired)
205 Mercury Road
Newark, DE 19711-3040
Email: ERPTmged@aol.com
Received: 2005 Jan 15; Accepted: 2005 Feb 14
Errata: 2005 August 06 - made title descriptive

Background of This Series

Dispersing Powders in Liquids, by Ralph D. Nelson, Jr. (Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., 1988) was originally published to accompany courses that the author taught to industrial technologists over a two-decade period. The book was quite popular. All copies of the first edition were sold, the publisher re-issued it in 1993, and most of the second printing were also sold. In 2001 the publisher gave the copyright back to the author, who has now given Educational Resources for Particle Technology a license to post an updated version on the Web as a series of articles.
Other parts of the book: Part 1 (HTML) | Part 2 (HTML) | Part 3 (PDF)

Sections of Part 4 of the Series

How does interfacial energy enter into the basic thermodynamic formulae?
How easy is it to break large particles into small particles?
What factors control the system's contact angles?
Why are small particles so reactive compared to bulk material?

Chapter 5 Surface Thermodynamics is posted as a single PDF file

      5.1 Elementary Thermodynamics
            Internal Energy, Compression Energy, and Heat Energy
            Enthalpy and Gibbs' Free Energy
            Molar Chemical Potential Energy
            Chemical Equilibrium

      5.2 Energy Changes Due to Creating New Surface
            Interfacial Energy Density = Surface Tension
            Energy from Surface Excess Concentration

      5.3 Surface Energy in a Multi-phase System
            Phase Interaction Energy
            Contact Angle for a Liquid Drop on a Clean, Flat Solid Surface
            Liquid Rise in a Small Bore Tube
            Wicking -- Velocity of Penetration into a Pore
            Wetting and Spreading over a Solid Surface
            Predicting Dispersion / Agglomeration Behavior

      5.4 Energy Changes Due to Curvature
            Compression of Gas inside Small Bubbles
            Increased Vapor Pressure for Small Droplets
            Increased Solubility for Small Particles

Ralph D. Nelson, Jr. earned a BA in chemistry from Colby College and a PhD in physical chemistry from Princeton University and was then appointed as an NSF-NRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Bureau of Standards for two years. For seven years he taught physical chemistry at Georgetown University, Middlebury College, Brown University, and West Virginia University, then earned an MSE in chemical engineering at West Virginia University.

He joined the DuPont Company in 1974 and spent twenty-five years in technical assistance to manufacturing and as an internal consultant in particle technology, retiring in 1998 as a Senior Research Associate. He wrote Dispersing Powders in Liquids (Elsevier, 1988 and 1995) and has taught continuing education courses at the Center for Professional Advancement, the Univ. of Florida, and within DuPont. He is now the managing editor of Educational Resources for Particle Technology -- a new venture in the on-line, just-in-time, free-of-charge delivery of tutorials in particle technology.

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