Surface tension, hydrophobicity, and black holes: The entropic connection

TL;DR

This paper explores a novel formalism linking black hole entropy and fluid surface tension, demonstrating good experimental agreement and potential applications in thermodynamics and protein folding.

Contribution

It introduces a new method applying entropic formalism from black hole physics to empirical fluid theories, enabling calculation of surface tension and other thermodynamic quantities.

Findings

Good agreement with experimental surface tension data

Potential for a new technique in thermodynamic calculations

Implications for understanding protein folding

Abstract

Recent calculations have shown that the linear proportionality between black hole entropy and area can be explained by performing a density matrix calculation for a massless free field theory. By applying the same formalism to an empirical fluid ``field theory,'' entropic quantities such as surface tension can be calculated in a novel fashion. Good agreement with experiment is obtained for a number of liquids. This approach may lead to a practical new technique for the evaluation of thermodynamic quantities important entropic components. Implications for the protein folding problem are discussed.