Spinodal decomposition is spontaneous growth of composition fluctuations in a homogeneous mixture whose local mixing free energy has negative composition curvature. For a mean , equal regions at change the mean free energy by , which is negative inside the spinodal. Interfacial costs suppress sufficiently short wavelengths, while conservation of composition constrains the dynamics. Outside the spinodal but inside the binodal, the uniform state is instead metastable and requires nucleation to begin separation.
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Spinodal decomposition is a process that occurs in certain types of mixtures or solutions, particularly in the context of phase separation. It is a thermodynamic phenomenon that takes place when a single homogeneous phase becomes unstable under specific conditions, such as temperature or composition changes, leading to the spontaneous separation of the mixture into two or more distinct phases without the need for nucleation.