Abstract
The Kelvin equation1 relates the equilibrium vapour pressure of a liquid to the curvature of the liquid–vapour interface. It predicts that undersaturated vapours will condense in channels of sufficiently small dimensions. While the applicability of the Kelvin equation to organic liquids with meniscus radii as low as 4 nm has been verified by direct experiment2, its applicability to water for meniscus radii below 4 nm is unverified, and has been doubted3,4. We have used Fizeau interferometry to measure directly the capillary condensation of water in a wedge between fused silica surfaces. Measurements were made at relative vapour pressures (P/Ps) from 0.996 down to 0.945, corresponding to theoretical meniscus radii from ∼120 to 9nm. We findonly a small discrepancy between our experimental results and the Kelvin equation in the vapour pressure range covered, provided that correct account is taken of the effect of the adsorbed film, up to 200 nm thick, on the meniscus shape.
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Fisher, L., Gamble, R. & Middlehurst, J. The Kelvin equation and the capillary condensation of water. Nature 290, 575–576 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/290575a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/290575a0
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