Diffusion in mercury-argon gas mixtures

Ab initio quantum-mechanical calculations of potential of interactions U(R) are performed for Hg-Ar. Using equations from the molecular kinetic theory of rarefied gases, a new statistical correlation is found between data on the potential of interaction (molecular beams, molecular spectroscopy, and potential U(R)) and experimental data on the mutual diffusion coefficient (MDC) of mercury-argon gas mixtures. Calculated reference data on the MDC of mercury-argon gas mixtures in the temperature range of 300 to 600 K are offered as a possible standard for calibrating instruments that measure MDCs of liquid vapors and inert gases using the Stefan method.