Related papers: A Generalized Nucleation Theory for Ice Crystalliz…
Nucleation is an activated process in which the system has to overcome a free energy barrier in order for a first-order phase transition between the metastable and the stable phases to take place. In the liquid-to-solid transition the…
The electronic properties and optical response of ice and water are intricately shaped by their molecular structure, including the quantum mechanical nature of hydrogen atoms. In spite of numerous studies appeared over decades, a…
Nucleation at large metastability is still largely an unsolved problem, although is a problem of tremendous current interest, with wide practical value. It is well-accepted that the classical nucleation theory (CNT) fails to provide a…
Aggregation of ice crystals is a key process governing precipitation. Individual ice crystals exhibit considerable diversity of shape, and a wide range of physical processes could influence their aggregation; despite this we show that a…
The dynamics of homogeneous nucleation and growth of crystalline nickel from the super-cooled melt is examined during rapid quenching using molecular dynamics and a modified embedded atom method potential. The character of the critical…
We study the evolution of percolation with freezing. Specifically, we consider cluster formation via two competing processes: irreversible aggregation and freezing. We find that when the freezing rate exceeds a certain threshold, the…
We present a partial free energy profile for the homogeneous nucleation of ice using an all-atom model of water at low supercooling, at which ice growth dynamics are reasonably accessible to simulation. We demonstrate that the free energy…
In principle, the answer to the posed titular question is undoubtedly 'yes.' But in practice, requisite reference data for homogeneous systems have been obtained with a treatment of intermolecular interactions that is different from that…
Ice nucleation plays a significant role in a large number of natural and technological processes, but it is challenging to investigate experimentally because of the small time (ns) and short length scales (nm) involved. On the other hand,…
Water adopts many different crystal structures in its solid form. These provide insight into potential structures of water even in its liquid phase, and they can be used to calibrate pair potentials used for simulation of water. In crowded…
A simple method to calculate dispersion of the total number of droplets appeared in the process of nucleation caused by the smooth variation of external conditions has been presented. The analytical result for dispersion is compared with…
The phenomenon of burst nucleation in solution, in which a period of apparent chemical inactivity is followed by a sudden and explosive growth of nucleated particles from a solute species, has been given a widely accepted qualitative…
We propose an approximation for the total ice nucleation rate J=J(T,R) in supercooled water droplets as a function of both droplet radius R and temperature T, taking account of both volume-based and surface-stimulated nucleation modes. Its…
Recently-reported data suggest that bubble nucleation on surfaces with nano-sized features (cavities and posts) may occur close to the thermodynamic saturation temperature. However, according to the traditional theory of heterogeneous…
We study conditions under which carbon clusters of different sizes form and stabilize. {We describe an approach to equilibrium by simulating tenuous carbon gas dynamics to long times.} First, we use reactive molecular dynamics simulations…
The multivariable theory of nucleation [J. Chem. Phys. 124, 124512 (2006)] is applied to the problem of vapor bubbles formation in pure liquids. The presented self-consistent macroscopic theory of this process employs thermodynamics…
The first computational model of solid-phase chemistry in cometary nuclear ices is presented. An astrochemical kinetics model, MAGICKAL, is adapted to trace the chemical evolution in multiple layers of cometary ice, over a representative…
Studies of nucleation generally focus on the properties of the critical cluster, but the presence of defects within the crystal lattice means that the population of nuclei necessarily evolve through a distribution of pre-critical clusters…
Supercooling of water can be easily studied with a simple apparatus suitable for the student laboratory. We describe such an apparatus and its capabilities. The parameters influencing supercooling include the initial temperature of the…
The propensity of water to remain in a metastable liquid state at temperatures below its equilibrium melting point holds significant potential for cryopreserving biological material such as tissues and organs. The benefits conferred are a…