We show how single-molecule unzipping experiments can provide strong evidence that the zero-force melting transition of long molecules of natural dsDNA should be classified as a phase transition of the higher-order type (continuous). Toward this end, we study a statistical-mechanics model for the fluctuating structure of a long molecule of dsDNA, and compute the equilibrium phase diagram for th...

7.1 General Conclusions Investigations of the crystallization and melting behavior of linear polyethylene and of a series of ethylene/styrene random copolymers with styrene content ranging from 0.35 mol% to 11.7 mol% were discussed in chapters 3, 4 and 5 using the techniques of DSC and temperature modulated calorimetry. The focus of these studies was placed on the correlations between the tempo...

Various melting-related phenomena (like surface melting, size dependence of melting temperature, melting of few nm-size particles and overheating at a very fast heating rate) are of great fundamental and applied interest, although the corresponding theory is still lacking. Here we develop an advanced phase-field theory of melting coupled to mechanics, which resolves numerous existing contradict...

We present the results of melting experiments on a moderately depleted peridotite composition (DMM1) at 10 kbar and 1250±1390 C. Specially designed experiments demonstrate that liquids extracted into aggregates of vitreous carbon spheres maintained chemical contact with the bulk charge down to melt fractions of 0 02±0 04 and approached equilibrium closely. With increasing melt fraction, SiO2, F...

We compare experimental and predicted differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves for palm oil (PO), peanut oil (PeO) and grapeseed oil (GO). The predicted curves are computed from the solid–liquid equilibrium modelling and direct minimization of the Gibbs free energy. For PO, the lower the scan rate, the better the agreement. The temperature transitions of PeO and GO were predicted with an ...

The melting transition of bulk and confined Stockmayer fluids (μ = 1) is analyzed using molecular dynamic simulations. The solid−liquid coexistence temperature is evaluated using a modified three-stage pseudosupercritical transformation path. The bulk melting temperature calculated using the aforementioned method agrees well with the literature value. Melting temperatures of the Stockmayer flui...

We examine ice crystal growth from water vapor at temperatures near the melting point, when surface premelting creates a quasiliquid layer at the solid/vapor interface. Recent ice growth measurements as a function of vapor supersaturation have demonstrated a substantial nucleation barrier on the basal surface at these temperatures, from which a molecular step energy can be extracted using class...