Second-order symmetric-asymmetric phase transition of randomly connected membranes

Static light-scattering experiments on pseudoternary systems of salted water, pentanol, and salium dodecyl sulfate are presented. The results show evidence for a second-order phase transition between two isotropic phases which is not a classical liquid-liquid phase separation. We discuss these results in the frame of the sponge-asymmetric phase transition which has been described for systems of self-avoiding connected membranes. Both the correlation function and the critical behavior of the scattered intensity are analyzed and are shown to be in agreement with theory.