The spread of Nucleation temperatures of a sample of supercooled liquid is independent of the average nucleation temperature

The stochastic nature of the nucleation of a supercooled solution is not always realized or well-defined. There exists an inherent spread of nucleation temperatures of any given sample which is repeatedly supercooled, frozen, and then thawed, in the same container, even when the nucleation is occurring at the same site. Classical nucleation theory predicts such a spread but does not provide any molecular level interpretation for the value of the spread and thus it has been the subject of some speculation. This report shows that there is a lower limit to the value of the spread which is related neither to the efficiency of the best nucleation site nor the number of times the sample is cooled and the nucleation temperature measured. © 2012 American Chemical Society.