Nth order phase transition

Term · Chemistry · MLC-T-CHM-008092

A classification of phase transitions based on the lowest derivative of the Gibbs free energy that exhibits a discontinuity at the transition point. A first-order transition has a discontinuity in the first derivative (e.g., entropy or volume), while a second-order transition has a discontinuity in the second derivative (e.g., heat capacity or compressibility). Higher-order transitions are theoretically possible but less commonly observed.

Table 1. Record
Identifier	MLC-T-CHM-008092
Field	Chemistry
Subject	Inorganic Chemistry
References	PAC, 1994, 66, 577. 'Definitions of terms relating to phase transitions of the solid state (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)' on page 587 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199466030577)
See also	Gibbs energy; Chemical potential; First-order phase transition; Second-order transition

Record as JSON

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-008092",
  "term": "Nth order phase transition",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "A classification of phase transitions based on the lowest derivative of the Gibbs free energy that exhibits a discontinuity at the transition point. A first-order transition has a discontinuity in the first derivative (e.g., entropy or volume), while a second-order transition has a discontinuity in the second derivative (e.g., heat capacity or compressibility). Higher-order transitions are theoretically possible but less commonly observed.",
  "subject": "Inorganic Chemistry",
  "see_also": [
    "Gibbs energy",
    "chemical potential",
    "first-order phase transition",
    "second-order transition"
  ],
  "references": [
    "PAC, 1994, 66, 577. 'Definitions of terms relating to phase transitions of the solid state (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)' on page 587 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199466030577)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/nth-order-phase-transition/"
}

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