THE STRUCTURE OF SIMPLE FLUIDS

A simple fluid may be composed of either a single element or molecules involving no mom than two types of atom (e.g. NaCl, H2O). This limita tion means that their microscopic structure and dynamics may be studie d more completely. Such fluids have been examined experimentally and t heoretically for many years and their overall behaviour is fairly well understood. For this reason current work has focused on accurate stru ctural and dynamic data, and its interpretation in terms of precise co mputer simulations or theoretical treatments. Some topical examples wi ll be described in order to illustrate the character of the questions about simple fluids that may be investigated by radiation scattering t echniques.