Preferred Label : pair correlation length;
Detailed label : pair correlation length in thin films, ξ;
IUPAC definition : A quantity which approximates to the characteristic length associated with certain
number density profiles of diffuse layers. ξ is defined as the separation between
two interacting entities (molecules, macromolecular segments, ions, spins), either
in bulk or interfacial regions, beyond which an appropriate function, referred to
as pair correlation function, either decays (e.g. to 1/e of an 'initial' value) or
vanishes. A characteristic length must be confused neither with the effective thickness
of the interfacial layer, nor with the range (effective distance) of the intermolecular
(pair) potential. This range is defined by the distance over which this potential
and the corresponding correlation function both vanish.;
Origin ID : P04397;
See also
A quantity which approximates to the characteristic length associated with certain
number density profiles of diffuse layers. ξ is defined as the separation between
two interacting entities (molecules, macromolecular segments, ions, spins), either
in bulk or interfacial regions, beyond which an appropriate function, referred to
as pair correlation function, either decays (e.g. to 1/e of an 'initial' value) or
vanishes. A characteristic length must be confused neither with the effective thickness
of the interfacial layer, nor with the range (effective distance) of the intermolecular
(pair) potential. This range is defined by the distance over which this potential
and the corresponding correlation function both vanish.
