Curvature dependence of the surface tension of liquid and vapor nuclei

The surface tension and the Tolman length have been presented as series in terms of the interface curvature c. The expansion has been limited by a Lin ear term on c for the Tolman length and a square one for the surface tensio n. In the framework of the van der Waals capillarity theory the expansion c oefficients have been expressed in terms of the planar interface characteri stics. The coefficients asymptotic behavior has been derived in the vicinit y of the liquid-vapor critical point. For the van der Waals fluid, the resu lts of expansions have been compared with the data of direct numerical calc ulations. A wide curvature interval of the suitability of derived formulas has been stated. This fact allows the use of them in the homogeneous nuclea tion theory to calculate the critical nucleus formation work. [S1063-651X(9 9)02201-1].