On the Kinetics of Nonisothermal Nucleation

Abstract

The kinetics of supersaturated vapor nucleation is considered with allowance for the possible difference between the temperature of the clusters and that of the gaseous phase. The resultant equation for the steady-state nucleation rate has the same form as the equation of the classical theory but contains the work of the thermodynamically irreversible droplet formation. This equation relates the nucleation rate to the cluster temperatures. It is transformed into the equation of the classical theory if the clusters have the same temperature as the gaseous phase. On the basis of the thermal balance for the clusters, an equation relating their temperature and concentration to the nucleation rate is derived. The form of this equation is similar to the equation of heat propagation in a moving medium in the presence of heat sources and sinks.