Condensation Coefficient: Definitions, Estimations, Modern Experimental and Calculation Data

A brief analysis of different approaches to the calculation and measurement of the condensation coefficient of a vapor is presented. It is shown that, on frequent occasions, calculations give values of this coefficient that are at variance with the corresponding experimental data and that the condensation coefficient is determined most exactly on the basis of the molecular-kinetic theory. It was established that the spread in the literature data on the measured values of this coefficient is explained mainly by the fact that these values were obtained not in the immediate vicinity from the boundary between the gas and liquid phases but at a large distance (as compared to the mean free path of molecules) from it. Results of calculations of the condensation coefficient of argon by the method of moleculardynamic simulation are presented.