3 research outputs found
Universal Power Law in the Noise from a Crumpled Elastic Sheet
Using high-resolution digital recordings, we study the crackling sound
emitted from crumpled sheets of mylar as they are strained. These sheets
possess many of the qualitative features of traditional disordered systems
including frustration and discrete memory. The sound can be resolved into
discrete clicks, emitted during rapid changes in the rough conformation of the
sheet. Observed click energies range over six orders of magnitude. The measured
energy autocorrelation function for the sound is consistent with a stretched
exponential C(t) ~ exp(-(t/T)^{b}) with b = .35. The probability distribution
of click energies has a power law regime p(E) ~ E^{-a} where a = 1. We find the
same power law for a variety of sheet sizes and materials, suggesting that this
p(E) is universal.Comment: 5 pages (revtex), 10 uuencoded postscript figures appended, html
version at http://rainbow.uchicago.edu/~krame