Critical Exponent
Critical exponents describe the behaviour of physical quantities near continuous phase transitions. It is believed, though not proven, that they are universal, i.e. they do not depend on the details of the physical system, but only on
- the dimension of the system,
- the range of the interaction,
- the spin dimension.
These properties of critical exponents are supported by experimental data. The experimental results can be theoretically achieved in mean field theory for higher-dimensional systems (4 or more dimensions). The theoretical treatment of lower-dimensional systems (1 or 2 dimensions) is more difficult and requires the renormalization group. Phase transitions and critical exponents appear also in percolation systems.
Read more about Critical Exponent: Definition, The Most Important Critical Exponents, Mean Field Theory, Experimental Values, Scaling Functions, Scaling Relations, Anisotropy, Multicritical Points, Static Versus Dynamic Properties, Transport Properties, Self-organized Criticality, Percolation Theory
Famous quotes containing the word critical:
“To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)