Assume that a drop of liquid evaporates by a decrease in its surface energy so that its temperature remains unchanged. What should be the maximum radius of the drop for this to be possible?
Notations:
is the surface tension.
is the density of the liquid.
is its latent heat of vaporization.
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If the radius of the drop is reduced by d r then the potential energy will be reduced by d U and some of the mass d m will evaporate.
For this to happen, the loss in the surface energy of water should be greater than or equal to the energy needed to evaporate the mass d m .
For this,
d U ≥ d m L .
Here, L is the latent heat of vaporization of water.
Now, d U = T d s , Here T is the surface tension and d s is the change in the surface area.
d s = 8 π r d r .
Similarly, d m = ρ d V , Here ρ is the density of water and d V is change in its volume.
d V = 4 π r 2 d r .
Hence, for evaporation,
d U ⇒ T ( d s ) T × ( 8 π r d r ) ⇒ r ≥ ≥ ≥ ≤ ( d m ) L . ( d m ) L . L × ρ × ( 4 π r 2 d r ) . ρ L 2 T .
Therefore, the maximum radius for the drop to evaporate is ρ L 2 T