Line Tension and Ice Nucleation Theory

Abstract

The theory of heterogeneous nucleation which dominates the cloud physics field neglects the effect of the line tension which operates at the perimeter of the embryo-substrate interface. Without the inclusion of the line tension the theory is fundamentally unsound, as demonstrated by its inability to explain the activation resulting from a surface phase change. It is anticipated that the corrected theory will alter the predicted relationship between nucleation temperature and particle size.