sector6

@john cuthber: Didn't know they had an instrument called an evaporator! I think I'll be using a poor-man's version by using a mass balance every few hours

@john c., thanks for ur input. The Clausius-Clapeyron rang some rusty old bell in the memory lane I'll see what else I could find on this....research time (i.e. googling time)

@enthalpy, swansont: thank you for pointing out my misconceptions if u have any queries on biomolecular engineering, proteins and polymers, I might be able to help

Does anyone know what property of a liquid is directly proportional to the volatiliy? I suspect that the specific gravity does since higher the density -> higher sp. gravity -> lower volatility. Looking from at the molecules again to try to explain (chemistry realm!): Larger molecules -> higher attractive forces between the molcules (Van der Waal) -> higher density and higher sp. gravity >>>>>>>>>>>>>> The chemical is less volatile.

@Enthalpy: Thanks a mill.! Will read up on surface tension and see what I could get. UPDATE:I remembered this equation was taught in my maths module at university! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young-Laplace_equation

Dear All, I have a question involving a perfume bottle with a wick to 'disperse' the smell to the atmosphere. Please see the attached diagramme. What is the minimum gap 'd' so that the perfume will still be taken-up by the wick (due to the atmospheric pressure) so that people can smell the same level of perfume? The gap must be small enough so that when the bottle is inverted, the perfume won't leak through the hole. I tried to think back to my physics lessons but nothing useful came up...... 'd' has to be larger than a nitrogen molecule for it to pass through but how large it must be in order the wick to work normally and to prevent leakages when the bottle is inverted. The attractive force between the perfume molecules will determine whether it'll leak or not but what equations can we use for this? Thanks, sector6