Cluster description of water-in-oil microemulsions near the critical and percolation points

The three-component ionic microemulsion system consisting of AOT/water/decane shows an unusual phase behavior in the vicinity of room temperature. The phase diagram in the temperature-volume fraction (of the dispersed phase) plane exhibits a lower consolute critical point at about 40 degrees centigrades and 10% volume fraction. A percolation line, starting from the vicinity of the critical point, cuts across the plane, extending to high volume fraction side at progressively lower temperatures. In this paper we review the evidence that allows to interpret the phase behavior of our system in terms of interacting spherical droplets. We also investigate the dynamics of droplets, below and approaching the critical point by dynamic light scattering. The first cumulant and time evolution of the droplet density correlation function can be quantitatively calculated by assuming the existence of polydispersed fractal clusters formed by the microemulsion droplets due to attraction. The relaxation phenomena observed in an extensive set of measurements of electrical conductivity and permittivity close to percolation is also reviewed and interpreted through the same cluster-forming mechanism, which reproduces the most relevant features of the frequency-dependent complex dielectric constant of this system. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.     

Conjugate points in

An example of a geodesic in with conjugate points is given, thus providing an affirmative answer to a question of V.I. Arnold.

     

Equivalent conditions involving common fixed points for maps on the unit interval

Let be a continuous self-map of the unit interval . Equivalent conditions are given to ensure that has a common fixed point with every continuous map that commutes with on a suitable subset of . This extends a recent result of Gerald Jungck.

     

Realization of fixed point sets

Letf:XX be a selfmap of a compact connected polyhedron, andA a nonempty closed subset ofX. In this paper, we shall deal with the question whether or not there is a mapg:XX homotopic tof such that the fixed point set Fixg ofg equalsA. We introduce a necessary condition for the existence of such a mapg. It is shown that this condition is easy to check, and hence some sufficient conditions are obtained.Partially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning University.     

Freezing points,osmotic coefficients,and activity coefficients of some salts in ethylene carbonate: A high dielectric constant solvent without hydrogen bonding

The freezing points, conductivities, and densities of NaI, KI, CsI, Bu₄NCl, Bu₄NBr, Bu₄NI, Et₄NBr, and Pr₄NBr (where Et = ethyl, Pr = propyl, and Bu =n-butyl) in ethylene carbonate have been measured. Osmotic and activity coefficients were calculated from the results. All of the salts studied are strong electrolytes. The trends in the osmotic coefficients of the alkali metal iodides are NaI>KI>CsI, showing that Na⁺ is more solvated by ethylene carbonate than Cs⁺. For the tetraalkylammonium halides, the order of osmotic coefficients are Et₄NBrPr₄NBrBu₄NCl>Bu₄NBr>Bu₄NI. This is the same order as observed in two other high-dielectric-constant solvents, water andN-methylacetamide. The results indicate that the smaller anions are more solvated than the larger anions in ethylene carbonate in contrast to the usual behavior of dipolar aprotic (basic) solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide.     

Location of saddle points and minimum energy paths by a constrained simplex optimization procedure

Two methods are proposed, one for the location of saddle points and one for the calculation of steepest-descent paths on multidimensional surfaces. Both methods are based on a constrained simplex optimization technique that avoids the evaluation of gradients or second derivative matrices. Three chemical reactions of increasing structural complexity are studied within the PRDDO SCF approximation. Predicted properties of reaction hypersurfaces are in good overall agreement with those determined by gradient minimization and gradient following algorithms in connection with various ab initio SCF methods. Computational efforts required by the new procedures are discussed.     

Intrinsic Surface Reaction Constant in 1-pK Model of Mg-Fe Hydrotalcite-like Compounds

The relationship among intrinsic surface reaction constant (K) in 1-pK model, point of zero net charge (PZNC) and structural charge density (σst) for amphoteric solid with structural charges was established in order to investigate the effect of σst on pK. The theoretical analysis based on 1-pK model indicates that the independent PZNC of electrolyte concentration (c) exists for amphoteric solid with structural charges. A common intersection point (CIP) should appear on the acid-base titration curves at different c, and the pH at the CIP is pHPZNC. The pK can be expressed as pK=-pHPZNC log[(1 2αPZNC)/(1-2αPZNC)], where αPZNC≡σst/eNANs, in which e is the elementary charge, NA the Avogadro‘s constant and Ns the total density of surface sites. For solids without structural charges, pK=-pHPZNC. The pK values of hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTlc) with general formula of [Mg1-xFex(OH)2](Cl,OH)x were evaluated. With increasing x, the pK increases, which can be explained based on the affinity of metal cations for H^- or OH^- and the electrostatic interaction between charging surface and H^- or OH^-.     

Mixed strategy solutions forN-person quadratic games

Mixed strategy -equilibrium points are given forN-person games with cost functions consisting of quadratic, bilinear, and linear terms and strategy spaces consisting of closed balls in Hilbert spaces. The results are applied to linear-quadratic differential games with no information and quadratic integral constraints on the control functions.This work was supported by a Commonwealth of Australia, Postgraduate Research Award.     

Topological degree of a family of convex functions and localization of nash equilibrium points

We define the degree of a family of convex functionsf _x, wherex , and prove that, if this degree is different from zero, one has at least one Nash equilibrium point in . This is a criterion of localization of such equilibrium points.     

Thermodynamics of saturated lanthanide nitrate-water systems

The thermodynamic properties of saturated aqueous lanthanide nitrate solutions were determined using recently published critically evaluated solubility and activity data. The variation of the thermodynamic functions and congruent melting points as a function of atomic number are interpreted in terms of changes in inner sphere coordination number in both the solid hexahydrates and in the aquo ions, and in terms of the double-double effect.Inconsistencies in experimental solubility data are generally caused by uncertainties in solid phase composition which is shown to be due to the very small Gibbs energies accompanying transitions from stable to metastable systems differing in the number of hydrating water molecules.Presentation to First International Symposium on Solubility Phenomena, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, August 21–23, 1984.