Gibbs Criteria
A metastable phase lies at a local but not global minimum in free energy, and is resistant to small fluctuations. J. Willard Gibbs described two criteria for a metastable phase: that it must remain stable against a small change over a large area, and that it must remain stable against a large change over a small area.
Read more about this topic: Spinodal Decomposition
Famous quotes containing the word criteria:
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—Hubert H. Humphrey (19111978)