Aerosol microphysics of indoor radon: Annual update, 1 October 1988--31 August 1989

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5837585

To provide an improved description for the deposition of charge on ultrafine aerosol particles, we have introduced for the first time into aerosol studies the ''jellium'' model potential to quantitatively describe the interaction energy at long range between a conducting particle and an ion (here modeled as a point charge). The benefit of utilizing this potential, in its linearized approximation, is that it accounts for the response of the particle's conduction electrons to the field of the ion rather than relying upon a macroscopic picture whose validity is nuclear for sufficiently small particles. In the limit of large separations or of larger particles, the jellium and image potentials converge rapidly implying that no inconsistency exists between the generally-accepted approach for larger particles and our contribution. As a part of our work, we have given an accurate fit to the experimental data in the literature on the charging rate of neutral particles in the 4--50 nm range of radii without the need for assumptions other than of the charging ion properties. The results of this work will contribute to the ability to model charged radon daughter cluster ion attachment to high-diffusivity particles and conversely to the ability to model charge attachment on high-diffusivity uncharged particles containing a radon daughter.

• Research Organization: Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (USA). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
• DOE Contract Number: FG05-87ER60550
• OSTI ID: 5837585
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/60550-3; ON: DE89017359
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320107* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Building Systems-- (1987-)
500300 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
AIR
BUILDINGS
COLLOIDS
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
DISPERSIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELECTRIC CHARGES
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
GASES
ISOTOPES
NONMETALS
PARTICLE SIZE
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIOACTIVE AEROSOLS
RADON
RARE GASES
RECOMBINATION
SEDIMENTATION
SIZE
SOLS