The Landau test is a commonly used diagnostic measure in psychological and educational evaluations. The word "Landau" is spelled with four letters, L-a-n-d-a-u, and has the phonetic transcription /lændɑ/ which indicates the pronunciation of the word. The "L" sound is produced at the front of the mouth with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge, followed by a short "a" sound. The "n" is pronounced by touching the front of the tongue to the alveolar ridge again, followed by a vowel glide to the "d" sound pronounced with the tongue hitting the upper teeth. Finally, the "au" diphthong is pronounced with rounded lips that open slightly midway through the sound, producing an /ɑ/ sound.
The Landau test, also known as the Landau criterion or Landau stability criterion, is a concept used in various branches of physics to determine the stability of a system or a physical phenomenon. It was named after the prominent Soviet physicist Lev Landau, who formulated this criterion in the 1940s.
In essence, the Landau test provides a condition for whether a system will undergo a phase transition or remain stable. It is particularly applicable to the study of phase transitions in condensed matter physics and statistical mechanics. The criterion is based on the behavior of the thermodynamic potential of a system as a function of its order parameter, which is a measure of the symmetry-breaking in the system.
The Landau test states that for a system to be stable, the energy of the system must be at a minimum, and the second derivative of the thermodynamic potential with respect to the order parameter must be positive. Conversely, if the second derivative is negative, it implies that the system is in an unstable state and can undergo a phase transition. This negative value indicates a decrease in energy as the order parameter deviates from its equilibrium value, hence driving the system towards a new stable state.
The Landau test has significant applications in various areas of physics, such as understanding phase transitions in materials, superconductivity, superfluidity, and ferromagnetism. It provides a valuable mathematical framework for analyzing the stability and behavior of different physical systems in a quantitative manner.
A color test for syphilis: into a test-tube 12 mm. in diameter, containing 0.2 c.c. of the suspected serum, there is poured 0.1 c.c. of a 1 per cent. solution of iodine in tetrachlormethane. The tube is left to stand four hours or more. There is then added 0.2 c.c. of a solution of ammonia. If the test is positive the solution is clear and transparent. If the serum is normal the solution is milk-white.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.