Extended corresponding-states behavior for particles with variable range attractions

We propose an extension of the law of corresponding states that can be applied to systems-such as colloidal suspensions-that have widely different ranges of attractive interactions. We argue that the reduced second virial coefficient is a convenient parameter to quantify the effective range of attraction. Knowledge of the pair-potential alone allows one to estimate the relative location of the liquid-vapor and solid-fluid coexistence curves. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)52432-5].