PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALL-RUSSIA SEMINAR ON THE STRUCTURE OF LIQUIDS AND SOLUTIONS

A model of the metastable state of matter is suggested. According to this model, excess potential energy stored at the initial time is gradually transferred to macroscopic fluctuations. As a result, the potential energy of a system continuously decreases, whereas the amplitude of fluctuations increases. This eventually causes spontaneous transition from the metastable to thermodynamically equilibrium state. The suggested model was statistically grounded, and a system of equations describing the homogeneous formation of a new phase was obtained.