Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol.100, No.1, 556-559, 1994
Molecular-Dynamics Study of the Curvature Correction to the Surface-Tension
The first order curvature correction to the surface tension of a drop is given by Tolman’s length. Up until now, no accurate estimates of this length existed for realistic fluids. Recently Blokhuis and Bedeaux proposed a new relation that expresses Tolman’s length as an integral over the pair distribution function of a planar liquid-vapor interface. We have used this relation to obtain estimates of Tolman’s length from molecular dynamics simulations of a Lennard-Jones liquid-vapor interface. We found it to be positive and small for a range of temperatures running from the triple-point temperature to the critical temperature.