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Foam
Foams are materials formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid. A bath sponge and the head on a glass of beer are examples of foams. In most foams, the volume of gas is large, with thin films of liquid or solid separating the regions of gas. Soap foams are also known as suds. Solid foams can be closed-cell or open-cell. In closed-cell foam, the gas forms discrete pockets, each completely surrounded by the solid material. In open-cell foam, gas pockets connect to each other. A bath sponge is an example of an open-cell foam: water easily flows through the entire structure, displacing the air. A sleeping mat is an example of a closed-cell foam: gas pockets are sealed from each other so the mat cannot soak up water. Foams are examples of dispersed media. In general, gas is present, so it divides into gas bubbles of different sizes (i.e., the material is polydisperse)—separated by liquid regions that may form films, thinner and thinner when the liquid phase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foam - Big
Foams are materials formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid. A bath sponge and the head on a glass of beer are examples of foams. In most foams, the volume of gas is large, with thin films of liquid or solid separating the regions of gas. Soap foams are also known as suds. Solid foams can be closed-cell or open-cell. In closed-cell foam, the gas forms discrete pockets, each completely surrounded by the solid material. In open-cell foam, gas pockets connect to each other. A bath sponge is an example of an open-cell foam: water easily flows through the entire structure, displacing the air. A sleeping mat is an example of a closed-cell foam: gas pockets are sealed from each other so the mat cannot soak up water. Foams are examples of dispersed media. In general, gas is present, so it divides into gas bubbles of different sizes (i.e., the material is polydisperse)—separated by liquid regions that may form films, thinner and thinner when the liquid phase d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reticulated Foam
Reticulated foam is a very porous, low density solid foam. 'Reticulated' means like a net. Reticulated foams are extremely open foams i.e. there are few, if any, intact bubbles or cell windows. In contrast, the foam formed by soap bubbles is composed solely of intact (fully enclosed) bubbles. In a reticulated foam only the lineal boundaries where the bubbles meet ( Plateau borders) remain. The solid component of a reticulated foam may be an organic polymer like polyurethane, a ceramic or a metal. These materials are used in a wide range of applications where the high porosity and large surface area are needed, including filters, catalyst supports, fuel tank inserts, and loudspeaker covers. Structure and properties A description of the structure of reticulated foams is still being developed. While Plateau's laws, the rules governing the shape of soap films in foams were developed in the 19th century, a mathematical description of the structure is still debated. The computer-gener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Foam
Quantum foam or spacetime foam is a theoretical quantum fluctuation of spacetime on very small scales due to quantum mechanics. The theory predicts that at these small scales, particles of matter and antimatter are constantly created and destroyed. These subatomic objects are called virtual particles. The idea was devised by John Wheeler in 1955. Background With an incomplete theory of quantum gravity, it is impossible to be certain what spacetime would look like at small scales. However, there is no definitive reason that spacetime needs to be fundamentally smooth. It is possible that instead, in a quantum theory of gravity, spacetime would consist of many small, ever-changing regions in which space and time are not definite, but fluctuate in a foam-like manner. Wheeler suggested that the uncertainty principle might imply that over sufficiently small distances and sufficiently brief intervals of time, the "very geometry of spacetime fluctuates". These fluctuations could be la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weaire–Phelan Structure
In geometry, the Weaire–Phelan structure is a three-dimensional structure representing an idealised foam of equal-sized bubbles, with two different shapes. In 1993, Denis Weaire and Robert Phelan found that this structure was a better solution of the Kelvin problem of tiling space by equal volume cells of minimum surface area than the previous best-known solution, the Kelvin structure. History and the Kelvin problem In two dimensions, the subdivision of the plane into cells of equal area with minimum average perimeter is given by the hexagonal tiling, but although the first record of this honeycomb conjecture goes back to the ancient Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro, it was not proven until the work of Thomas C. Hales in 1999. In 1887, Lord Kelvin asked the corresponding question for three-dimensional space: how can space be partitioned into cells of equal volume with the least area of surface between them? Or, in short, what was the most efficient soap bubble foam? This pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sleeping Mat
In camping, a ground pad, sleeping pad, thermal pad, sleeping mat, or roll mat is lightweight pad, common among hikers, backpackers and budget travelers, often used in conjunction with a sleeping bag. Its purpose is to provide padding and thermal insulation. All types currently available use air as their primary form of insulation. In its simplest form a sleeping pad consists of a foam-like material that is about half a centimeter thick (about a quarter of an inch). The dimensions of the pad are usually about the same length as a sleeping bag and a little wider. Slight variations in design can be found, such as rippling in the foam, but these do not significantly affect the pad's thermal properties. A common misconception is that the pads are primarily for creating a more comfortable sleeping or sitting area. Instead, the primary purpose of the pad is to prevent the loss of body heat into the ground while sleeping. The materials used are typically filled with air pockets, slowing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surfactant
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsion#Emulsifiers , emulsifiers, foaming agents, or dispersants. The word "surfactant" is a Blend word, blend of ''surface-active agent'', coined . Agents that increase surface tension are "surface active" in the literal sense but are not called surfactants as their effect is opposite to the common meaning. A common example of surface tension increase is salting out: by adding an inorganic salt to an aqueous solution of a weakly polar substance, the substance will precipitate. The substance may itself be a surfactant – this is one of the reasons why many surfactants are ineffective in sea water. Composition and structure Surfactants are usually organic compounds that are amphiphilic, meaning each molecule contains both a hydrophilic "water-seeking" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surfactant
Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsion#Emulsifiers , emulsifiers, foaming agents, or dispersants. The word "surfactant" is a Blend word, blend of ''surface-active agent'', coined . Agents that increase surface tension are "surface active" in the literal sense but are not called surfactants as their effect is opposite to the common meaning. A common example of surface tension increase is salting out: by adding an inorganic salt to an aqueous solution of a weakly polar substance, the substance will precipitate. The substance may itself be a surfactant – this is one of the reasons why many surfactants are ineffective in sea water. Composition and structure Surfactants are usually organic compounds that are amphiphilic, meaning each molecule contains both a hydrophilic "water-seeking" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tessellations
A tessellation or tiling is the covering of a surface, often a plane (mathematics), plane, using one or more geometric shapes, called ''tiles'', with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, tessellation can be generalized to high-dimensional spaces, higher dimensions and a variety of geometries. A periodic tiling has a repeating pattern. Some special kinds include ''regular tilings'' with regular polygonal tiles all of the same shape, and ''semiregular tilings'' with regular tiles of more than one shape and with every corner identically arranged. The patterns formed by periodic tilings can be categorized into 17 wallpaper groups. A tiling that lacks a repeating pattern is called "non-periodic". An ''aperiodic tiling'' uses a small set of tile shapes that cannot form a repeating pattern. A ''tessellation of space'', also known as a space filling or honeycomb, can be defined in the geometry of higher dimensions. A real physical tessellation is a tiling made of materials such a ... [...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 Ital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plateau's Laws
Plateau's laws describe the structure of soap films. These laws were formulated in the 19th century by the Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau from his experimental observations. Many patterns in nature are based on foams obeying these laws. Laws for soap films Plateau's laws describe the shape and configuration of soap films as follows: # Soap films are made of entire (unbroken) smooth surfaces. # The mean curvature of a portion of a soap film is everywhere constant on any point on the same piece of soap film. # Soap films always meet in threes along an edge called a Plateau border, and they do so at an angle of arccos(−) = 120°. # These Plateau borders meet in fours at a vertex, at the tetrahedral angle In geometry, a tetrahedron (plural: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all th ... of arccos(−)&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sponge (tool)
A sponge is a cleaning aid made of soft, porous material. Typically used for cleaning impervious surfaces, sponges are especially good at absorbing water and water-based solutions. Originally made from natural sea sponges, they are most commonly made from synthetic materials today. Etymology The word comes from the Ancient Greek term (), which in turn is probably derived from a Mediterranean Pre-Indo European substrate. History The first reference of sponges used for hygiene dates from Ancient Greece. Competitors of the Olympic Games bathed themselves with sea sponges soaked in olive oil or perfume before competing. In the book ''Odyssey'' by the Greek poet Homer, the god Hephaestus cleans his hands, face, and chest with a sea sponge, and the servants in the Odysseus palace also used sea sponges to clean the tables after the meals the suitors of Penelope had there. The Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato also mentioned sea sponges in both scientific and historic conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dispersed Media
A dispersed medium consists of two media that do not mix. More specifically, it contains discrete elements of one medium which are dispersed in a continuous second medium. The two media can be of very different nature. In particular, they can be a gas, a liquid or a solid. Many materials which we encounter during the day are dispersed media. For example, milk consists of oil drops dispersed in water, fog contains tiny water drops dispersed in air, shaving cream contains bubbles dispersed in a liquid, sand consists of solid grains in air and a kitchen sponge of bubbles dispersed in a solid. Dispersed media are commonly classified according to the nature of the two media and the volume fraction of the dispersed medium. At very low volume fraction the dispersed objects are not in contact with each other. At intermediate volume fraction they start to be in contact (they jam). And at even higher volume fraction, the dispersed objects deform in a tight packing. Another classification t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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