Effect of Electrostatic Interactions on Effective Cross-Sections for Collision of Small Particles With Neutral Molecules

Abstract

Quasi-classical trajectory calculations have been used to calculate effective collision cross-sections for polar and non-polar molecules with charged and neutral conducting spheres of radius 0.001-0.1 μm over the temperature range 10-400 K. In general the effective cross-section is much larger than the geometrical cross-section, especially for small, highly charged, particles colliding with highly polar molecules at low temperatures. The results may have a bearing on the growth of atmospheric aerosols and of interstellar dust grains.