Phase Diagrams

In relating phase diagrams to crystal chemistry, we seek an atomistic understanding of the geometry of the diagram and of the thermodynamic parameters on which the diagram is based. Among the questions to be considered are the following:
Can the number of intermediate phases in a composition diagram be predicted?
Which structure types will occur?
Can melting points and boiling points be predicted?
What types of phase transformations occur with temperature and pressure?
When are crystallochemical factors important in kinetics?
What determines solid solution limits?
How are entropy and other thermodynamic quantities related to structure?
When do liquid crystals, glasses, and other noncrystalline states form?