| Solving the above condition <math>(\partial p / \partial V)_T = 0</math> for the van der Waals equation, one can compute the critical point as | | Solving the above condition <math>(\partial p / \partial V)_T = 0</math> for the van der Waals equation, one can compute the critical point as |
| The existence of a critical point was first discovered by [[Charles Cagniard de la Tour]] in 1822<ref>{{cite journal |author=Charles Cagniard de la Tour |date=1822 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rzNCAAAAcAAJ&q=Cagniard&pg=PA127 |title=Exposé de quelques résultats obtenu par l'action combinée de la chaleur et de la compression sur certains liquides, tels que l'eau, l'alcool, l'éther sulfurique et l'essence de pétrole rectifiée |trans-title=Presentation of some results obtained by the combined action of heat and compression on certain liquids, such as water, alcohol, sulfuric ether (i.e., diethyl ether), and distilled petroleum spirit |journal=Annales de Chimie et de Physique |volume=21 |pages=127–132 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>Berche, B., Henkel, M., Kenna, R (2009) Critical phenomena: 150 years since Cagniard de la Tour. Journal of Physical Studies 13 (3), pp. 3001-1–3001-4.</ref> and named by [[Dmitri Mendeleev]] in 1860<ref>Mendeleev called the critical point the "absolute temperature of boiling" ({{lang-ru|абсолютная температура кипения}}; {{lang-de|absolute Siedetemperatur}}). | | The existence of a critical point was first discovered by [[Charles Cagniard de la Tour]] in 1822<ref>{{cite journal |author=Charles Cagniard de la Tour |date=1822 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rzNCAAAAcAAJ&q=Cagniard&pg=PA127 |title=Exposé de quelques résultats obtenu par l'action combinée de la chaleur et de la compression sur certains liquides, tels que l'eau, l'alcool, l'éther sulfurique et l'essence de pétrole rectifiée |trans-title=Presentation of some results obtained by the combined action of heat and compression on certain liquids, such as water, alcohol, sulfuric ether (i.e., diethyl ether), and distilled petroleum spirit |journal=Annales de Chimie et de Physique |volume=21 |pages=127–132 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>Berche, B., Henkel, M., Kenna, R (2009) Critical phenomena: 150 years since Cagniard de la Tour. Journal of Physical Studies 13 (3), pp. 3001-1–3001-4.</ref> and named by [[Dmitri Mendeleev]] in 1860<ref>Mendeleev called the critical point the "absolute temperature of boiling" ({{lang-ru|абсолютная температура кипения}}; {{lang-de|absolute Siedetemperatur}}). |
| However, the van der Waals equation, based on a mean-field theory, does not hold near the critical point. In particular, it predicts wrong scaling laws. | | However, the van der Waals equation, based on a mean-field theory, does not hold near the critical point. In particular, it predicts wrong scaling laws. |