Superheating of Liquid Alkali Metals

The maximum attainable temperature of superheating and the critical temperature of cesium, rubidium, and potassium are correlated using the generalized van der Waals equation of state. This study shows that the maximum attainable temperatures of superheating for liquid cesium, rubidium, and potassium are 1722, 1802, and 2039 K, respectively. The results of the determination of the maximum attainable temperatures of superheating of liquid cesium, rubidium, and potassium are in agreement with experimental data. The given study establishes that liquid cesium, rubidium, and potassium can be superheated up to temperatures of about 200K below their critical temperatures of 1924, 2017, and 2280 K, respectively. Moreover, cesium, rubidium, and potassium have been found to obey the single-parameter law of corresponding states, with the maximum attainable reduced temperature of superheating as the thermodynamic similarity parameter.