Self-Nucleation in the Sulfuric Acid-Water System

Abstract

Howard Reiss' ``Vector model'' was adapted to calculate the self-nucleation rate for the sulfuric acid-water system and similar systems. A numerical calculation was carried out for the typical case of 50% relative humidity at 25°C. It was concluded that rapid self-nucleation would take place at sulfuric acid partial pressures in the range 10-8-10-10 mm Hg. The considerable uncertainty is principally due to lack of data on the partial pressure of sulfuric acid above its aqueous solutions and on the dominant sulfuric acid-bearing species in humid atmospheres.