4. The water potential in a curved droplet of pure water is given by: 20 FH20 is

Question

4. The water potential in a curved droplet of pure water is given by: 20 FH20 is some positive constant, and, is the where H20 is the chemical potential in a flat volume ofwater, droplet's radius of curvature. Show that two equally sized water droplets in a closed container form an unstable system, and explain what will happen over time. Hint: Think about what happens to the chemical potential of H2O in the droplets when a tiny amount of water moves from one droplet to the other as a result of a random fluctuation.]

Explanation / Answer

Given this situation, if a tiny water droplet moves out from one droplet say A and joins into another say B. the radius of A will decrease by some amount resulting in an increase in the value of the positive constant alpha which will result in an increase in the water potential of the droplet A and decrease in the chemical potential in a flat volume of water A.

similarly radius of B will increase, decreasing its water potential and increasing the chemical potential of flat volume of B.

over time the water potential of A will increase so much that it will exert pressure on the walls of the container in which both the droplets are contained resulting in an unstable system.

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