2014/09/13 by Peter H. Nelson, Peter Hugo Nelson, Nelson, Peter Hugo · 1 citation
Chemistry · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #FOS: Physical sciences #Field-Flow Fractionation Techniques #Process Optimization and Integration #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #cond-mat.soft #thermodynamics and calorimetric analyses
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1409.3985
31 pages, 21 figures
arxiv created 2014/09/13 · openalex publication_date 2014/09/13 · arxiv updated 2014/09/16 · openalex created_date 2022/10/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A diffusive model of osmosis is presented that explains currently available experimental data. It makes predictions that distinguish it from the traditional convective flow model of osmosis, some of which have already been confirmed experimentally and others have yet to be tested. It also provides a simple kinetic explanation of Raoult's law and the colligative properties of dilute aqueous solutions. The diffusive model explains that when a water molecule jumps from low to high osmolarity at equilibrium, the free energy change is zero because the work done pressurizing the water molecule is balanced by the entropy of mixing. It also explains that equal chemical potentials are required for particle exchange equilibrium in analogy with the familiar requirement of equal temperatures at thermal equilibrium.