Distance continuum

Another effect of elastic deformation is that it causes a long-range interaction between steps. From the continuum elasticity theory, two steps sepa-rated by a distance have a repulsive interaction proportional to l for homo- and to In i for hetero-epitaxial cases, respectively [84]. This interaction plays an important role, for example, in step fluctuations, terrace width distribution, step bunching, and so forth [7,85-88]. 

In the discussion so far, the fluid has been considered to be a continuum, and distances on the molecular scale have, in effect, been regarded as small compared with the dimensions of the containing vessel, and thus only a small proportion of the molecules collides directly with the walls. As the pressure of a gas is reduced, however, the mean free path may increase to such an extent that it becomes comparable with the dimensions of the vessel, and a significant proportion of the molecules may then collide direcdy with the walls rather than with other molecules. Similarly, if the linear dimensions of the system are reduced, as for instance when diffusion is occurring in the small pores of a catalyst particle (Section 10.7), the effects of collision with the walls of the pores may be important even at moderate pressures. Where the main resistance to diffusion arises from collisions of molecules with the walls, the process is referred to Knudsen diffusion, with a Knudsen diffusivily which is proportional to the product where I is a linear dimension of the containing vessel. 

As we have reviewed here, the linear region is not fully repulsive, and transitions of the ground-state, linear conformer access vibrationally excited intermolecular levels that are delocalized in the angular coordinate. As depicted in Fig. 1, however, the internuclear distance is significantly longer in the excited state at the linear geometry. Consequently, there is favorable Franck-Condon overlap of the linear conformer with the inner-repulsive wall of the excited-state potential. It is therefore possible for the linear Rg XY conformers to be promoted to the continuum of states just above each Rg - - XY B,v ) dissociation limit. 

Many other, less obvious physical consequences of miniaturization are a result of the scaling behavior of the governing physical laws, which are usually assumed to be the common macroscopic descriptions of flow, heat and mass transfer [3,107]. There are, however, a few cases where the usual continuum descriptions cease to be valid, which are discussed in Chapter 2. When the size of reaction channels or other generic micro-reactor components decreases, the surface-to-volume ratio increases and the mean distance of the specific fluid volume to the reactor walls or to the domain of a second fluid is reduced. As a consequence, the exchange of heat and matter either with the channel walls or with a second fluid is enhanced. 

An intermolecular pair distribution function evaluated at the end of Step 2 would consist of delta functions at those distances allowed on the 2nnd lattice. After completion of reverse mapping, which moves the system from the discrete space of the lattice to a continuum, the carbon-carbon intermolecular pair distribution function becomes continuous, as depicted in Fig. 4.7 [144]. 

This formulation assumes that the continuum diffusion equation is valid up to a distance a > a, which accounts for the presence of a boundary layer in the vicinity of the catalytic particle where the continuum description no longer applies. The rate constant ky characterizes the reactive process in the boundary layer. If it approximated by binary reactive collisions of A with the catalytic sphere, it is given by kqf = pRGc(8nkBT/m)1 2, where pR is the probability of reaction on collision. 

Although the trajectory and convective diffusion techniques are conceptually simple, certain mechanisms, in particular, the exact role of the intermolecular force between the particle and the electrode remains an element of debate. Most of these problems arise because continuum models about short-range interactions break down at very short distances, where other factors, much less defined come into play. A complete understanding of the coelectrodeposition process requires a synergy between theoretical models and thorough experimental work. 

The cage effect was also analyzed for the model of diffusion of two particles (radical pair) in viscous continuum using the diffusion equation [106], Due to initiator decomposition, two radicals R formed are separated by the distance r( at / = 0. The acceptor of free radicals Q is introduced into the solvent it reacts with radicals with the rate constant k i. Two radicals recombine with the rate constant kc when they come into contact at a distance 2rR, where rR is the radius of the radical R Solvent is treated as continuum with viscosity 17. The distribution of radical pairs (n) as a function of the distance x between them obeys the equation of diffusion ... 

The vapor-layer model developed in Section IV.A.2 is based on the continuum assumption of the vapor flow. This assumption, however, needs to be modified by considering the kinetic slip at the boundary when the Knudsen number of the vapor is larger than 0.01 (Bird, 1976). With the assumption that the thickness of the vapor layer is much smaller than the radius of the droplet, the reduced continuity and momentum equations for incompressible vapor flows in the symmetrical coordinates ( ,2) are given as Eqs. (43) and (47). When the Knudsen number of the vapor flow is between 0.01 and 0.1, the flow is in the slip regime. In this regime, the flow can still be considered as a continuum at several mean free paths distance from the boundary, but an effective slip velocity needs to be used to describe the molecular interaction between the gas molecules and the boundary. Based on the simple kinetic analysis of vapor molecules near the interface (Harvie and Fletcher, 2001c), the boundary conditions of the vapor flow at the solid surface can be given by... 

These three structures are the predominant structures of metals, the exceptions being found mainly in such heavy metals as plutonium. Table 6.1 shows the structure in a sequence of the Periodic Groups, and gives a value of the distance of closest approach of two atoms in the metal. This latter may be viewed as representing the atomic size if the atoms are treated as hard spheres. Alternatively it may be treated as an inter-nuclear distance which is determined by the electronic structure of the metal atoms. In the free-electron model of metals, the structure is described as an ordered array of metallic ions immersed in a continuum of free or unbound electrons. A comparison of the ionic radius with the inter-nuclear distance shows that some metals, such as the alkali metals are empty i.e. the ions are small compared with the hard sphere model, while some such as copper are full with the ionic radius being close to the inter-nuclear distance in the metal. A consideration of ionic radii will be made later in the ionic structures of oxides. 

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