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Nucleation in Solid Solution Stimulated by Non‐Equilibrium Electrons. I. General Theory
Author(s) -
Stoyanov S.,
Kashchiev D.,
Geoegiev M.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.19700410142
Subject(s) - nucleation , supersaturation , electron , condensation , thermodynamics , cloud chamber , chemical physics , solid solution , classical nucleation theory , materials science , condensed matter physics , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , metallurgy
Abstract A nucleation process proceeding at trapped electron sites in a solid solution of metal atoms within an insulating solid is considered. As a result of the more difficult migration of the condensing atoms, nucleation in a solid may follow a way which differs essentially from the condensation in a Wilson cloud chamber. By means of a properly defined effective supersaturation, expressions for the quasi‐steady state nucleation rate as well as for the total number of nuclei formed within a given time are derived. The analysis indicates that the presence of even a small number of trapped non‐equilibrium electrons may lead to a substantial increase of the nucleation rate. Inasmuch as the occurrence of non‐equilibrium electrons in a solid may be due to various reasons an application of the present theory might be attempted in various cases.