Some problems concerning the definition of a dividing surface and its influence on the calculation of thermodynamical parameters of small clusters

We discuss the influence of several definitions of the dividing surface on the size dependence of surface tension and surface stress. Among others we apply the original definition of Gibbs for the “surface of tension” (SOT) and the “equimolecular dividing surface” (EMDS). We show that from physical reasons the surface tension must only include curvature terms up to the quadratic term. The considerations are illustrated for microclusters of simple geometric configurations.