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Rigid Sphere
Hard spheres are widely used as model particles in the statistical mechanical theory of fluids and solids. They are defined simply as impenetrable spheres that cannot overlap in space. They mimic the extremely strong ("infinitely elastic bouncing") repulsion that atoms and spherical molecules experience at very close distances. Hard spheres systems are studied by analytical means, by molecular dynamics simulations, and by the experimental study of certain colloidal model systems. The hard-sphere system provides a generic model that explains the quasiuniversal structure and dynamics of simple liquids. Formal definition Hard spheres of diameter \sigma are particles with the following pairwise interaction potential: :V(\mathbf_1,\mathbf_2)=\left\{ \begin{matrix}0 & \mbox{if}\quad , \mathbf{r}_1-\mathbf{r}_2, \geq \sigma \\ \infty & \mbox{if}\quad, \mathbf{r}_1-\mathbf{r}_2, < \sigma \end{matrix} \right. where and are th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statistical Mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. It does not assume or postulate any natural laws, but explains the macroscopic behavior of nature from the behavior of such ensembles. Statistical mechanics arose out of the development of classical thermodynamics, a field for which it was successful in explaining macroscopic physical properties—such as temperature, pressure, and heat capacity—in terms of microscopic parameters that fluctuate about average values and are characterized by probability distributions. This established the fields of statistical thermodynamics and statistical physics. The founding of the field of statistical mechanics is generally credited to three physicists: *Ludwig Boltzmann, who developed the fundamental interpretation of entropy in terms of a collection of microstates *James Clerk Maxwell, who developed models of probability distr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molecular Dynamics
Molecular dynamics (MD) is a computer simulation method for analyzing the physical movements of atoms and molecules. The atoms and molecules are allowed to interact for a fixed period of time, giving a view of the dynamic "evolution" of the system. In the most common version, the trajectories of atoms and molecules are determined by numerically solving Newton's equations of motion for a system of interacting particles, where forces between the particles and their potential energies are often calculated using interatomic potentials or molecular mechanical force fields. The method is applied mostly in chemical physics, materials science, and biophysics. Because molecular systems typically consist of a vast number of particles, it is impossible to determine the properties of such complex systems analytically; MD simulation circumvents this problem by using numerical methods. However, long MD simulations are mathematically ill-conditioned, generating cumulative errors in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colloid
A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a liquid, while others extend the definition to include substances like aerosols and gels. The term colloidal suspension refers unambiguously to the overall mixture (although a narrower sense of the word ''suspension'' is distinguished from colloids by larger particle size). A colloid has a dispersed phase (the suspended particles) and a continuous phase (the medium of suspension). The dispersed phase particles have a diameter of approximately 1 nanometre to 1 micrometre. Some colloids are translucent because of the Tyndall effect, which is the scattering of light by particles in the colloid. Other colloids may be opaque or have a slight color. Colloidal suspensions are the subject of interface and colloid science. This field of study was introduced in 1845 by Itali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virial Coefficient
Virial coefficients B_i appear as coefficients in the virial expansion of the pressure of a many-particle system in powers of the density, providing systematic corrections to the ideal gas law. They are characteristic of the interaction potential between the particles and in general depend on the temperature. The second virial coefficient B_2 depends only on the pair interaction between the particles, the third (B_3) depends on 2- and non-additive 3-body interactions, and so on. Derivation The first step in obtaining a closed expression for virial coefficients is a cluster expansion of the grand canonical partition function : \Xi = \sum_ = e^ Here p is the pressure, V is the volume of the vessel containing the particles, k_B is Boltzmann's constant, T is the absolute temperature, \lambda =\exp mu/(k_BT) is the fugacity, with \mu the chemical potential. The quantity Q_n is the canonical partition function of a subsystem of n particles: : Q_n = \operatorname e^ Here H(1,2,\ld ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monte Carlo Integration
In mathematics, Monte Carlo integration is a technique for numerical integration using random numbers. It is a particular Monte Carlo method that numerically computes a definite integral. While other algorithms usually evaluate the integrand at a regular grid, Monte Carlo randomly chooses points at which the integrand is evaluated. This method is particularly useful for higher-dimensional integrals. There are different methods to perform a Monte Carlo integration, such as uniform sampling, stratified sampling, importance sampling, sequential Monte Carlo (also known as a particle filter), and mean-field particle methods. Overview In numerical integration, methods such as the trapezoidal rule use a deterministic approach. Monte Carlo integration, on the other hand, employs a non-deterministic approach: each realization provides a different outcome. In Monte Carlo, the final outcome is an approximation of the correct value with respective error bars, and the correct value is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Packing Density
A packing density or packing fraction of a packing in some space is the fraction of the space filled by the figures making up the packing. In simplest terms, this is the ratio of the volume of bodies in a space to the volume of the space itself. In packing problems, the objective is usually to obtain a packing of the greatest possible density. In compact spaces If are measurable subsets of a compact measure space and their interiors pairwise do not intersect, then the collection is a packing in and its packing density is :\eta = \frac. In Euclidean space If the space being packed is infinite in measure, such as Euclidean space, it is customary to define the density as the limit of densities exhibited in balls of larger and larger radii. If is the ball of radius centered at the origin, then the density of a packing is :\eta = \lim_\frac. Since this limit does not always exist, it is also useful to define the upper and lower densities as the limit superior and limit i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random Close Pack
Random close packing (RCP) of spheres is an empirical parameter used to characterize the maximum volume fraction of solid objects obtained when they are packed randomly. For example, when a solid container is filled with grain, shaking the container will reduce the volume taken up by the objects, thus allowing more grain to be added to the container. In other words, shaking increases the density of packed objects. But shaking cannot increase the density indefinitely, a limit is reached, and if this is reached without obvious packing into an ordered structure, such as a regular crystal lattice, this is the empirical random close-packed density for this particular procedure of packing. The random close packing is the highest possible volume fraction out of all possible packing procedures. Experiments and computer simulations have shown that the most compact way to pack hard perfect same-size spheres randomly gives a maximum volume fraction of about 64%, i.e., approximately 64% of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
