Cavity growth

A solid contains a spherical cavity, subject to a hydrostatic stress. For now, we assume that the solid is stiff so we ignore its deformation. The cavity can still change its size by a special mechanism: atoms diffuse through the solid between the cavity surface and the external surface. We will concentrate in this lecture on the question, Will the cavity shrink or enlarge? We will consider the diffusion process in some detail in the next lecture, and answer the question, How fast will the cavity change its size?