Dynamic equilibrium in self-preserving aerosols

Abstract

It has been shown that a self-preserving aerosol in a state of dynamic equilibrium has a distribution of the form n( r) = C φ r −4, where r is the particle radius, n( r) is the size distribution function in terms of particle radius, φ is the particle volume fraction, and C is a dimensionless constant. The excellent agreement of the theoretically predicted size distribution with the available experimental data on the size distribution of atmospheric aerosols strongly suggests that the atmospheric aerosol may be regarded as having developed a self-preserving form of distribution and as being in a state of dynamic equilibrium over a substantial portion of its size spectrum.