Open AccessThe supersaturation and nuclear condensation of certain organic vapours
Publication year - 1908
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series a, containing papers of a mathematical and physical character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9150
pISSN - 0950-1207
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.1908.0074
Subject(s) - adiabatic process , vapours , condensation , piston (optics) , supersaturation , expansion chamber , cylinder , thermodynamics , expansion ratio , chemistry , materials science , mechanics , physics , optics , mechanical engineering , engineering , wavefront , neuroscience , biology
The condensation of drops, which takes place when dust-free air saturated with an organic vapour is cooled by an adiabatic expansion, is the subject of this investigation. The experiments were made with the air and vapour (1) in their natural state, (2) ionised by Röntgen rays. The apparatus used was in principle the same as that of Mr. C. T. R. Wilson in his experiments with water vapour. The essential part of it is an expansion chamber in communication with a glass cylinder, in which a gas-tight piston slides freely. When a trigger is pulled the piston descends, and a very rapid (adiabatic) expansion of the air and vapour is obtained. The expansion was determined from the initial and final readings of a pressure gauge. The illumination of the expansion chamber was such as enabled any drops formed by the expansion to be readily seen. The liquids used in the experiments were carefully purified.