Abstract
We derive an upper limit, imposed by cinematic constraints, for the packing
fraction of right circular spherocylindrical molecules inside a freely
rotating right circular cylindrical domain at a gas-liquid interface. The
derivation is made under the assumption that the molecules are rigid and
close packed. The expression obtained for the packing fraction as a
function of domain size and angle of inclination is exact for all domain
sizes and all values of the inclination angle. For small angles of
inclination (< 20° ), and domains containing more than 30
molecules, the packing fraction can be approximated by a simple smooth
analytical expression. The domain size at which the approximation is
reasonable increases with increasing angle of inclination. At an
inclination angle of 40° the approximation is good for domains
containing 300 molecules or more.
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