The Levi-Civita spacetime as a limiting case of the Gamma spacetime

It is shown that the Levi-Civita metric can be obtained from a family of the Weyl metric, the Gamma metric, by taking the limit when the length of its Newtonian image source tends to infinity. In this process a relationship appears between two fundamental parameters of both metrics.Comment: LaTeX2e 17 page

Mathisson's helical motions demystified

The motion of spinning test particles in general relativity is described by Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon equations, which are undetermined up to a spin supplementary condition, the latter being today still an open question. The Mathisson-Pirani (MP) condition is known to lead to rather mysterious helical motions which have been deemed unphysical, and for this reason discarded. We show that these assessments are unfounded and originate from a subtle (but crucial) misconception. We discuss the kinematical explanation of the helical motions, and dynamically interpret them through the concept of hidden momentum, which has an electromagnetic analogue. We also show that, contrary to previous claims, the frequency of the helical motions coincides exactly with the zitterbewegung frequency of the Dirac equation for the electron.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the Spanish Relativity Meeting 2011 (ERE2011), "Towards new paradigms", Madrid 29 August - 2 September 201

Reference Frames and the Physical Gravito-Electromagnetic Analogy

The similarities between linearized gravity and electromagnetism are known since the early days of General Relativity. Using an exact approach based on tidal tensors, we show that such analogy holds only on very special conditions and depends crucially on the reference frame. This places restrictions on the validity of the "gravito-electromagnetic" equations commonly found in the literature.Comment: 9 Pages, 1 figure. To appear in the Proceedings of the IAU Symposium 261 "Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy: Dynamics, Reference Frames, and Data Analysis", Virginia Beach, USA, 27 April - 1 May 200

Liquid mixtures involving fluorinated alcohols: The equation of state (p, r, T, x) of (Ethanol + Trifluoroethanol) Experimental and Simulation

Liquid mixtures involving fluorinated alcohols: The equation of state (p, r, T, x) of (Ethanol + Trifluoroethanol) Experimental and Simulation Pedro Duartea, Djêide Rodriguesa, Marcelo Silvaa, Pedro Morgadoa, Luís Martinsa,b and Eduardo J. M. Filipea* aCentro de Química Estrutural, Instituto Superior Técnico, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal bCentro de Química de Évora, Universidade de Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal Fluorinated alcohols are substances with unique properties and high technological value in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Trifluoroethanol (TFE), in particular, displays a number of unusual properties as a solvent. For example, it dissolves nylon at room temperature and is effectively used as solvent in bioengineering. The presence of the three fluorines atoms gives the alcohol a high ionization constant, strong hydrogen bonding capability and stability at high temperatures. In the pharmaceutical industry, TFE finds use as the major raw material for the production of inhalation anesthetics. Mixtures of TFE and water (known as Fluorinols®) are used as working fluids for Rankine cycle heat engines for terrestrial and space applications, as a result of a unique combination of physical and thermodynamic properties such as high thermal efficiency and excellent turbine expansion characteristics. Environmentally, TFE is a CFC substitute with an acceptable short lifetime and with small ozone depletion potential. Additionally, TFE is known to induce conformational changes in proteins and it is used as a co-solvent to analyze structural features of partially folded states. The (ethanol + TFE) system displays an interesting and peculiar behaviour, combining a negative azeotrope with high positive excess volumes. In this work, liquid mixtures of (ethanol + TFE) were investigated. The densities of the mixtures were measured as a function of composition between 278K and 338K and at pressures up to 700 bar. The corresponding excess volumes as a function of temperature and pressure, the isothermal compressibilities and thermal expansivities were calculated from the experimental results. The mixtures are highly non-ideal with excess volumes ranging from 0.8 - 1.0 cm3mol-1. Finally, molecular dynamic simulations were performed to model and interpret the experimental results. The Trappe force field was used to simulate the (TFE + ethanol) mixtures and calculate the corresponding excess volumes. The simulation results are able to reproduce the correct sign and order of magnitude of the experimental VE without fitting to the experimental data. Furthermore, the simulations suggest the presence of a particular type of hydrogen bridge between ethanol and TFE, that can help to rationalize the experimental results