Some consequences of the nucleation theorem for binary fluids

Abstract

This paper describes some extensions and applications of the nucleation theorem, which relates the variation of nucleation rates with gas partial pressures to the size and composition of the critical nucleus. It is first pointed out that even when only critical supersaturations (as opposed to nucleation rates) are measured for binary systems, the composition of the critical nucleus can still be extracted from experimental data. The effect of carrier-gas pressure on nucleation rates is then examined and some rather general bounds are derived. Existing diffusion cloud chamber data appear to be inconsistent with these bounds, although more accurate measurements of binary gas second virial coefficients are necessary to draw a definitive conclusion.