STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF SURFACES COVERED BY LARGE SPHERES

Statistical properties of surfaces covered by particles deposited unde r the influence of gravity are investigated by means of optical micros copy and image analysis. The radial distribution function of the parti cle configurations is determined over a wide coverage range. Special a ttention is paid to the fluctuations of the number of particles on sma ll surfaces which contain information upon the deposition process. A f irst analysis of these fluctuations is presented within a mean field a pproximation. All results are compared to the ballistic process which proves to be a good model. On the contrary, the observations are not c ompatible with a simple random sequential adsorption model.