On the test particle approach to the statistical mechanics of fluids

Abstract

We discuss the versatility of the test particle approach to the statistical mechanics of fluids, with particular reference to the hard sphere fluid. Statistical mechanical equations are reinterpreted in terms of the density profile near the surface of the excluded volume due to frozen test particles. This leads us to propose a new type of scaled particle theory, which we use to obtain an accurate approximation to the surface tension of a hard sphere fluid at a planar hard wall.