Adsorption of water vapour on solid surfaces

Abstract

Abstract An experimental study has been made of the adsorption of water vapour on solid surfaces. Two methods are used, the first a direct weighing of the adsorbed film on a microbalance and the second an examination of polarized light reflected from the surface. Both methods agree and show that, for the surfaces examined, the adsorption of water at vapour pressures near saturation corresponds only to about two molecular layers. The experiments suggest that the heavy adsorption, which has been previously observed and which has been quoted as evidence for long-range surface effects, is due to contamination.