Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : Solid insoluble nuclei help the formation of water or ice inasmuch as the adhesion-coefficient of water or ice on the solid be positive. If this coefficient is greater than 1 and if the solid nucleus is great enough this effect may be sufficient to render null the free energy of formation of germs and to provoke the condensation or the solidification without germ. These effects can be calculated a priori, assuming a certain degree of saturation of the atmospheric water vapour provided the suitable adhesion-coefficient be known.