Jean's instability

Jean's instability refers to a phenomenon in the context of physical systems, particularly in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. It describes a situation where small disturbances in a system can lead to large changes, often due to the system reaching a critical point. When the conditions change slightly—such as temperature or pressure—the system can break down into multiple states or phases. This is relevant in fields like materials science, where it can affect the stability of materials and lead to changes in properties, such as brittleness or elasticity, impacting their overall performance and usability.