Shattering of clusters upon surface impact: An experimental and theoretical study

E. Hendell*, U. Even, T. Raz, R. D. Levine

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

79 Scopus citations

Abstract

The shattering transition expected upon ultrafast heating has been observed in size selected (NH3)n-1NH4+ clusters, n=4 to 40, upon impact at supersonic velocities on a graphite surface. As a function of the impact velocity, the transition is between the recoil of the intact parent cluster and the appearance of small, n=1,2,... charged fragments. As the cluster size increases, the transition becomes a sharper function of the impact velocity. The experimental fragmentation pattern is well accounted for by a distribution of maximum entropy subject to conservation of energy, atoms, and charge.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2670-2673
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume75
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - 1995

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