Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4451501 | Atmospheric Research | 2006 | 16 Pages |
The growth of critical clusters is discussed in the paper according to the classical and molecular dynamics (MD) approaches. A new formula for molecule numbers in critical clusters has been derived within the framework of the classical approach. A set of equations controlling the early stage of growth in a neighborhood of a critical size is presented. As far as molecular dynamics simulation is concerned, a computational technique based on the DL_POLY code is described in brief. Computation results are presented concerning cluster formation of H2O vapor, distribution of clusters versus time, cluster growth and radial density distribution of isolated clusters. A comparison with the classical results is made for a case of dense vapor, where the mechanism of strong condensation is predominant. The Hertz–Knudsen formula seems to be verified by the molecular dynamics results.