Nucleation phenomena: The non-equilibrium kinetics of phase change Authors David Reguera Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia Keywords: phase transition, non-equilibrium, nucleation, metastable states, water Abstract The molecules and atoms that comprise matter have the tendency to join in different aggregation states called phases. How these atoms and molecules manage to shift between these different states is one of the most fascinating processes in physics. These phase transitions are commonly controlled and triggered by a non-equilibrium physical mechanism, called nucleation, that describes the formation of the first seeds of the new phase. Nucleation is behind many phenomena of utmost scientific and technological interest, ranging from nuclear phenomena and biological assembly to galaxy formation. However, due to its rare non-equilibrium nature, it is still one of the few classical problems that remain incompletely understood. Indeed, deviations between theoretical predictions and experiments can reach several orders of magnitude. In this article, we review the essential aspects of nucleation and the challenges it poses to current research. [Contrib Sci 11(2): 173-180 (2015)]Keywords: phase transition · non-equilibrium · nucleation · metastable states · water Author Biography David Reguera, Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia Downloads PDF Issue Vol. 11 No. 2 (2015) Section Materials License This work is subject, unless the contrary is indicated in the text, the photographs or in other illustrations, to an Attribution —Non-Commercial— No Derivative Works 3.0 Creative Commons License, the full text of which can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. You are free to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work provided that the author is credited and reuse of the material is restricted to non-commercial purposes only and that no derivative works are created from the original material.
