Nucleation rates and the kinetics of particle growth II. The birth and death process

Source abstract

Abstract The model considered in part I is generalized to include growth mechanisms in which the chemical reaction which proceeds at the particle-atm osphere interface is reversible, so that molecules may evaporate from a particle as well as condense upon it. The Becker-Döring-Zeldovich-Frenkel theory of homogeneous nucleation kinetics is then reviewed in the light of the known statistical problem of the birth -and -death process, and an improved approximation is introduced which significantly alters the calculated results. Both steady-state nucleation kinetics and the time lag problem are discussed.