Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
The theory of the evaporation of adsorbed atoms and ions of the alkali metals from a hot metal surface has been developed from somewhat different viewpoints by Langmuir and Kingdon and by Becker. These two treatments, which yield essentially the same results, are applicable only when equilibrium conditions obtain on the surface, so that the surface concentration is not changing. It is the purpose of the present note to extend Becker's treatment to take account of the rate of attainment of equilibrium on the surface, in order to lead to an interpretation of some experiments on the rate of evaporation of the alkali metals adsorbed on hot tungsten.
* Proc. Roy. Soc. A, 107, p. 61 (1925).Google Scholar
† Trans. Am. Electrochem. Soc. 55, p. 153 (1929).Google Scholar
‡ Evans, , Proc. Roy. Soc. A (1933)Google Scholar. In course of publication.
§ Langmuir and Kingdon, loc. cit.
* Phys. Rev. 27, p. 578 (1926).Google Scholar
* It must be emphasised that the argument is based on this assumption, but it is shown in the discussion of the experimental results that the assumption is self-consistent, for by an application of the Born cycle to the processes we can form a rough estimate of the atomic work function, and this is found to be of the same order of magnitude as øp.
† Evans, loc. cit.