Entropy of fusion  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump
to: navigation, search  The entropy of fusion is the increase in
entropy when melting a substance. This is almost always positive
since the degree of disorder increases in the transition from an
organized crystalline solid to the disorganized structure of a
liquid; the only known exception is helium.[1] It is denoted as
ΔSfus and normally expressed in J mol-1 K-1  A natural process
such as a phase transition will occur when the associated change
in the Gibbs free energy is negative.  \Delta G_{fus} = \Delta
H_{fus} - T \times \Delta S_{fus} < 0, where  \Delta H_{fus} is
the enthalpy or heat of fusion.  Since this is a thermodynamic
equation, the symbol T refers to the absolute thermodynamic
temperature, measured in Kelvin (K).  Equilibrium occurs when
the temperature is equal to the melting point T = T_f so that
\Delta G_{fus} = \Delta H_{fus} - T_f \times \Delta S_{fus} = 0,
and the entropy of fusion is the heat of fusion divided by the
melting