Figure 1 shows an isotherm drawn, for v > b , as a continuously differentiable solid black, dotted black, and dashed gray curve. The decreasing part of the curve to the right of point C in Fig. 1 describes a gas, while the decreasing part to the left of point E describes a liquid. These two parts are separated by a region between the local minimum and local maximum on the curve with positive slope that violates the stability criterion. This mathematical criterion expresses a physical condition which Epstein described as follows: