Strange as it may seem, Theoretical Physics can not give a solid explanation for natural phenomena as common as atmospheric flux, cloud strips or desert dunes, or for other phenomena such as traffic jams, even though what causes them is the same. Statistical Mechanics looks for the explanation behind these phenomena. This discipline tries to find the rules that link the microscopic world –that works on an atom scale– and the macroscopic world –the world where everything can be seen and touched.
This is the context for «Instability, nucleation and critical behaviour of fluids whose dragging is far from its equilibrium point: theory and simulation», a thesis by Manuel Díez Minguito, the new doctor of the department of Electromagnetism and Matter Physics (University of Granada). He has suggested a new computational model for fluids which drag particles if far from their equilibrium point. This model makes it easier to understand the essential aspects in pattern formation (heterogeneous particle aggregation) such as those previously mentioned.
The study has been directed by professors Joaquín Marro Borau and Pedro L. Garrido Galera. Thanks to them, a new model has been created, a model that will make it possible to understand natural phenomena from a microscopical standpoint. “Science had given us the explanation for these and other phenomena which are far from their equilibrium point –that means that they exchange both matter and energy with their environment– by using a phenomenological or heuristic standpoint. However, we could never find a microscopical-based explanation”. The study proposes a more realistic model, compared to those previously used, which has been called “Driven Lennard-Jones Fluid”. This model offers a unified microscopical vision to these apparently very different phenomena.
Everyday physics
Thanks to this new model, scientists will find an explanation for other phenomena whose causes, according to theoretical physics, remain unknown. Which factors have an influence on traffic jams? What are the mechanical qualities of snow that will make it possible for us to reduce the number of accidents caused by avalanches? If we take a lorry carrying sand, we will see that big particles stay on top, while small particles stay on the bottom. Why is this so? The theoretical model created by Díez Minguito will give an answer to these phenomena.
The results of his investigation –which is part of the new European doctorate program– have already been published in magazines such as Physical Review and Granular Matter, as well as by Springer Publishing.
Manuel Díez Minguito is the newest member of the Group for Ports and Coasts—Andalusian Centre for Environment (CEAMA), which is directed by Miguel Angel Losada and Elena Sánchez Badorrey.
His next step will be to apply the results obtained in his study in the investigation of sediment transport in superficial water.
Reference: Manuel Díez Minguito. Group for Ports and Coasts-Andalusian Centre for Environment.
Telephone numbers: +34 958 244 014 / +34 653 284 985. Email: mdiez@onsager.ugr.es
