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Re: Missing term



Gas-solid transitions are sometimes called "desublimation". I prefer using "desublimation", rather than using "sublimation" for both solid-gas and gas-solid transitions. I also prefer "desublimation", rather than "vapor deposition", because the former is a single word, as are the other terms in the set. I wouldn't use "deposition" without a modifier, because "deposition" is used for many other processes that are not phase transitions, such as the deposition of a layer of sand.

"Epitaxy" is another word associated with phase transitions from gas to solid; however, liquid-phase epitaxy is a transition from a liquid to a solid. I think that the appropriate phrase is "vapor-phase epitaxy". Specific epitaxial processes are called "molecular-beam epitaxy", "chemical-beam epitaxy", and similar phrases with additional modifiers. Epitaxy implies a finely-controlled chemical composition of the solid formed; sublimation from a gas to a solid does not necessarily imply a precise chemical composition. Epitaxy also implies the formation of a thin layer; sublimation from a gas to a solid could form a thicker solid.

Daniel Crowe
Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics
Ardmore Regional Center
dcrowe@sotc.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Edmiston, Mike [mailto:edmiston@BLUFFTON.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 7:18 AM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Re: Missing term


I agree with Bob Cohen that deposition is the reverse of sublimation,
except I have most often heard it as "vapor deposition." I think it =
is
perfectly proper to use the word deposition by itself, but in my
experience I have more often heard it with vapor tacked in front.

Interestingly this is also germane to searching. If you Google searc=
h
for "deposition" you will get 1,400,000 hits, many of which are not t=
he
reverse of sublimation. If you type "vapor deposition" you will get
about 80,000 hits, most of which are the reverse of sublimation.

(Okay, I did't check *most* of them, but it sure looks like "vapor
deposition" is the way you would want to search for this.)

Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu