Growth

Read the information below before attempting the short quiz to test your knowledge

Once an embryo has exceeded the critical size n* and becomes a stable nucleus, the growth stage begins.

Particle growth occurs by long-range atomic diffusion, usually involving three main steps:

• 1. Diffusion through the parent phase

  2. Across a phase boundary

  3. Into the nucleus

The growth rate, Ġ is determined by the rate of diffusion and is dependent on the temperature T:

C is a constant, Q is the activation energy, K is Boltzmann's constant and T is the temperature.

This dependency means at higher temperatures, the growth rate will be larger. However at these higher temperatures, nucleation rate is much less, meaning few embryos become a stable nucleus, however the few that do have rapid growth.

Now attempt this short quiz to test your understanding: Growth Quiz