  We have developed a method for extracting equilibrium observables from
non-equilibrium simulations by rapidly changing the temperature and recording
the subsequent evolution of the Polyakov loop. Both nucleation and spinodal
decomposition are observed to occur. In the latter case the Polyakov loop
correlation function shows exponential growth for wavenumbers less than or
equal to the critical wavenumber k_c. We have constructed the bare as wee as
the effective potential for the Polyakov loop, from which k_c and m_D/k_c can
be extracted as a function of temperature. The shift from spinodal
decomposition to nucleation as the dominant equilibration mechanism occurs at
the spinodal temperature that separates these two regimes.
