This book presents the current understanding of the water surface layer, integrating both experimental insights and theoretical developments. It also seeks to revisit and clarify some of the “known unknowns” that continue to challenge our knowledge of this interface.
Where Water Meets Air: The Science of Surface Phenomena presents the current understanding of the water surface layer, integrating both experimental insights and theoretical developments. It also seeks to revisit and clarify some of the "known unknowns" that continue to challenge our knowledge of this interface.
Some of the key points discussed in the book are as follows:
- Clarifies the uncertainty in predicting how water influences the greenhouse effect and climate change
- Presents complex scientific ideas in a clear, easy-to-follow style, making it valuable for both non-experts and specialists seeking a concise overview
- Integrates mathematical models with graphical illustrations to enhance understanding and bridge theory with real-world observations
- Revisits and explains the relevance of landmark scientific concepts and debates that continue to shape our understanding today
This book will benefit postgraduates, senior undergraduates, graduate students, and academic researchers in environmental science and engineering, chemical engineering, surface engineering and fluid mechanics.
1. Introduction.
2. Water as a liquid.
3. The tension of a liquid
surface.
4. Amphiphiles.
5. Hydration shells and bulk interaction of solutes.
6. Thermodynamic analysis of pure liquid.
7. Thermodynamic analysis of
heterogeneous aqueous surface.
8. Molecular structure and surface activity.
9. Evaporation and Condensation.
Chi M. Phan (Ph.D., BEng) has taught in the Discipline of Chemical Engineering at Curtin University for over 18 years. He has taught classes in process analysis, process calculations, modelling, and simulations. In addition to Curtin University, he taught at the University of Newcastle (Australia) and the University of Hyogo (Japan). Most of his research is around the soft interface between water and another fluid. His experimental and simulation works in the last two decades have provided insights into the physicochemical mechanisms of surfactants at the air/water and oil/water surface. The experimental methods and theoretical development are directly applicable to chemical and environmental engineering processes
