Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-of-atmospheres-and-oceans-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2022/1/d/solution

No. Near the liquid-gas critical point, the mass densities of liquid and vapor approach each other, so the neglected condensed-phase specific volume becomes comparable with the vapor specific volume. The vapor also ceases to obey the dilute ideal gas law. Although the latent heat tends to zero, the specific-volume difference tends to zero too: the exact Clausius-Clapeyron relation contains their ratio. Setting only the numerator to zero therefore does not justify a vanishing physical saturation pressure slope. A realistic equation of state and coexistence data are required near the surface; the dilute colder upper atmosphere can still be described approximately by the earlier expression.

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