In Liquid State Theory
In liquid state theory, the 'excluded volume' of a molecule is the volume that is inaccessible to other molecules in the system as a result of the presence of the first molecule. The excluded volume of a hard sphere is eight times its volume—however, for a two-molecule system, this volume is distributed among the two particles, giving the conventional result of four times the volume; this is an important quantity in the Van der Waals equation of state. The calculation of the excluded volume for particles with non-spherical shapes is usually difficult, since it depends on the relative orientation of the particles. The distance of closest approach of hard ellipses and their excluded area has been recently considered.
Read more about this topic: Excluded Volume
Famous quotes containing the words liquid, state and/or theory:
“Don’t forget the Dance Halls
Warwick and Savoy,
Where he picked his women, where
He drank his liquid joy.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)
“The story is told of a man who, seeing one of the thoroughbred stables for the first time, suddenly removed his hat and said in awed tones, “My Lord! The cathedral of the horse.””
—For the State of Kentucky, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“... the first reason for psychology’s failure to understand what people are and how they act, is that clinicians and psychiatrists, who are generally the theoreticians on these matters, have essentially made up myths without any evidence to support them; the second reason for psychology’s failure is that personality theory has looked for inner traits when it should have been looking for social context.”
—Naomi Weisstein (b. 1939)