The spinodal as a reference curve for the high-pressure volumetric behavior of liquids

Experimental and theoretical studies suggest that the thermal expansion coefficients α p of liquids follow a power law up to extremely high pressures along isothermal paths. Accurate experiments reveal that intersections between α p isotherms occur at high pressure for many liquids. It is shown how the high-pressure behavior of α p can be accurately predicted for real liquids from surface tension and low-pressure α p measurements. The method proposed here is based on the assumption that the spinodal curve does exist and can be estimated from surface tension measurements using Furth's hole theory.