On the theory of the bulk boiling of a liquid with transition into a metastable state

Abstract

The equilibrium adiabatic curve describing the behavior of liquid-gas vapor bubbles upon reduction of pressure lower than equilibrium for the initial temperature is constructed under the assumption that the liquid contains nuclei of the insoluble gas. It was found that, for sufficient small radii of nuclei, the dependence of pressure on the specific volume of the liquid boiling on nuclei can be nonmonotonic, i.e., has a form similar to the Van der Waals isotherm. Based on such a feature of the adiabatic curve, related to the appearance of capillary forces at the interface, an explanation is proposed of a phenomenon of transition into a metastable region upon the abrupt reduction in pressure observed in experiments. A theory and a principle of formation of solutions, which describes the transition from the metastable state, are proposed.