Vapor–liquid phase transition: The Van der Waals model

We develop the kinetic theory of critical phenomena in the Van der Waals model. Our approach is considerably different from the traditional phenomenological approach based on the scaling invariance hypothesis and the renormalization group method. From the analysis of the kinetic equation, we can calculate the dynamic and fluctuation characteristics and thus explain a number of experimental observations. The dynamic processes are investigated using self-consistent equations for the first and second moments of the distribution function. We use the corresponding Langevin equation to describe the fluctuation processes. The structure of the dissipative terms in the kinetic equation determines the source intensities. Analysis of experimental data for the temperature dependence of the heat capacity and for the molecular scattering spectra confirms the conclusions derived from the kinetic theory.