Clusters and Small Particles - Smirnov, Boris M.

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Résumé :
Small particles in gaseous systems are called clusters, aerosols, dust particles, Aitken particles, etc., depending on their size, the media where they are observed, and the field of science in which they are studied. Below we call clusters systems of bound atoms or molecules containing from several atoms (molecules) up to thousands, so that their structure can be essential for determining their properties. If clusters are like bulk systems, we call them small particles. The principal pecu? liarity of clusters is with respect to magic numbers of cluster atoms that correspond to a heightened cluster stability. Magic numbers correspond to complete structures of clusters as systems of bound atoms or molecules. The values of magic nwnbers depend on the character of interaction of the cluster's atoms. Cluster parameters as a function of the number of cluster atoms n have extrema at the magic nwnbers of atoms. For example, a cluster with a magic nwnber of atoms has a higher binding energy and ionization potential than clusters with neighboring nwnbers of atoms. The difference between clusters and small particles is such that parameters of small particles are monotonic functions of the nwnber of their atoms, while for clusters these parameters have local extrema at magic nwnbers of atoms.

Biographie:
Boris M. Smirnov obtained his Master of Science in Theoretical Nuclear Physics in 1962. In 1964 he received his Doctorate in Physics, and in 1968 he became Professor of Physics. In 1972 he was appointed Head of Laboratory at Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy (Moscow). From 1982 to 1986 he was Head of Laboratory at the Institute of Thermophysics (Novosibirsk). From 1986 he is working at the Joint Institute for High Temperatures (Moscow) as Head of Laboratory, Head of Department and Principal Scientist. His research focuses on theory of atoms, molecules, clusters, plasma and chemical physics. He has authored 55 books and 500 papers. His latest books are: Fundamentals of Ionized Gases. Basic Topics of Plasma Physics (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2011)...

Sommaire:
R. Stephen Berry is James Franck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Chemistry Department at The University of Chicago. He has studied phase changes and phase equilibria for twenty years. He is a MacArthur Fellow and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A., and has been author or coauthor of five books prior to this. He and his coauthor of this book have known each other for over 40 years, from the time both were working on atomic collision processes. They have been collaborating for about 10 years, in their studies of clusters and of phase transitions. Boris M. Smirnov is a distinguished physicist who worked for many years at the Institute for Ball Lightning, prior to his joining the Institute for High Temperatures in Moscow....