Nucleation in a superheated nitrogen–helium solution

The method of lifetime measurement has been used to investigate the nucleation of the vapor phase in a superheated liquid nitrogen–helium solution. Temperature dependences of the mean lifetime of a metastable solution have been obtained in experiments at pressures p = 0.5, 1.0 MPa and several values of the mixture concentration. The nucleation rate J has been calculated. It varied in experiments from 104 tо 108 s−1 m−3. The results of experiments are compared with homogeneous nucleation theory. The paper deals with the size effect on the surface tension of a nucleus and the work of its formation.