Oscillatory regimes of vapor condensation

The problem of the condensation of supersaturated vapor in an open system a t a constant rate of production of a monomer and a continuous flow of a car rier gas that removes the products of condensation from the system is consi dered. It is shown both analytically and by numerical experiment that with a decreasing rate of the carrier gas to below a critical magnitude, the con densation regime becomes oscillatory; namely, time oscillations of the clus ter-size distribution in the vapor to be condensed are set in. The cause of the phenomenon is in the suppression of the rate of nucleation and the pre sence of large clusters. (C) 2001 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".