The Fractal Feature of the Liquid-Vapor Interface

Abstract

Interfacial phenomenon appears frequently in practice. It plays important roles in various fields of science and technology. In order to make a clear understanding on the characteristics of an interface, a molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) was performed. The simulation results show that there exists a transition layer between the coexisting phases in which thermodynamics properties changes continuously. On the other hand, according to the fractal theory it is considered that the interface is not a smooth surface but a fractal one. The fractal dimension of it is calculated in the paper by the aid of the general approach provided in fractal theory. Furthermore, a relation between interface tension and fractal dimension of the interface was advanced. The surface tension thus obtained agrees well with the experiments.