Sticking coefficient is the term used in surface physics to describe the ratio of the number of adsorbate atoms (or molecules) that adsorb, or "stick", to a surface to the total number of atoms that impinge upon that surface during the same period of time. Sometimes the symbol Sc is used to denote this coefficient, and its value is between 1 (all impinging atoms stick) and 0 (none of the atoms stick). The coefficient is a function of surface temperature, surface coverage (θ) and structural details as well as the kinetic energy of the impinging particles.
Read more about Sticking Coefficient: Derivation
Famous quotes containing the word sticking:
“Very few of our race can be said to be yet finished men. We still carry sticking to us some remains of the preceding inferior quadruped organization. We call these millions men; but they are not yet men. Half-engaged in the soil, pawing to get free, man needs all the music that can be brought to disengage him.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)