4,729 research outputs found
Does gravity cause load-bearing bridges in colloidal and granular systems?
We study structures which can bear loads, "bridges", in particulate packings. To investigate the relationship between bridges and gravity, we experimentally determine bridge statistics in colloidal packings. We vary the effective magnitude and direction of gravity, volume fraction, and interactions, and find that the bridge size distributions depend only on the mean number of neighbors. We identify a universal distribution, in agreement with simulation results for granulars, suggesting that applied loads merely exploit preexisting bridges, which are inherent in dense packings
Scaling of dynamics with the range of interaction in short-range attractive colloids
We numerically study the dependence of the dynamics on the range of
interaction for the short-range square well potential. We find that,
for small , dynamics scale exactly in the same way as thermodynamics,
both for Newtonian and Brownian microscopic dynamics. For interaction ranges
from a few percent down to the Baxter limit, the relative location of the
attractive glass line and the liquid-gas line does not depend on . This
proves that in this class of potentials, disordered arrested states (gels) can
be generated only as a result of a kinetically arrested phase separation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Relation Between First Arrival Time and Permeability in Self-Affine Fractures with Areas in Contact
We demonstrate that the first arrival time in dispersive processes in
self-affine fractures are governed by the same length scale characterizing the
fractures as that which controls their permeability. In one-dimensional channel
flow this length scale is the aperture of the bottle neck, i.e., the region
having the smallest aperture. In two dimensions, the concept of a bottle neck
is generalized to that of a minimal path normal to the flow. The length scale
is then the average aperture along this path. There is a linear relationship
between the first arrival time and this length scale, even when there is strong
overlap between the fracture surfaces creating areas with zero permeability. We
express the first arrival time directly in terms of the permeability.Comment: EPL (2012)
Crystallization Mechanism of Hard Sphere Glasses
In supercooled liquids, vitrification generally suppresses crystallization.
Yet some glasses can still crystallize despite the arrest of diffusive motion.
This ill-understood process may limit the stability of glasses, but its
microscopic mechanism is not yet known. Here we present extensive computer
simulations addressing the crystallization of monodisperse hard-sphere glasses
at constant volume (as in a colloid experiment). Multiple crystalline patches
appear without particles having to diffuse more than one diameter. As these
patches grow, the mobility in neighbouring areas is enhanced, creating dynamic
heterogeneity with positive feedback. The future crystallization pattern cannot
be predicted from the coordinates alone: crystallization proceeds by a sequence
of stochastic micro-nucleation events, correlated in space by emergent dynamic
heterogeneity.Comment: 4 pages 4 figures Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett., April
201
Diffusive Evolution of Stable and Metastable Phases II: Theory of Non-Equilibrium Behaviour in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures
By analytically solving some simple models of phase-ordering kinetics, we
suggest a mechanism for the onset of non-equilibrium behaviour in
colloid-polymer mixtures. These mixtures can function as models of atomic
systems; their physics therefore impinges on many areas of thermodynamics and
phase-ordering. An exact solution is found for the motion of a single, planar
interface separating a growing phase of uniform high density from a
supersaturated low density phase, whose diffusive depletion drives the
interfacial motion. In addition, an approximate solution is found for the
one-dimensional evolution of two interfaces, separated by a slab of a
metastable phase at intermediate density. The theory predicts a critical
supersaturation of the low-density phase, above which the two interfaces become
unbound and the metastable phase grows ad infinitum. The growth of the stable
phase is suppressed in this regime.Comment: 27 pages, Latex, eps
A study on health-related quality of life of patients with Colorectal Neoplasm and cost-effectiveness analysis of Colorectal Cancer Screening in Hong Kong
Conference Theme: Translating Health Research into Policy and Practice for Health of the PopulationPoster Presentation - Delivery of Health Services: abstract no. P41-Ab0005BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common cancer in Hong Kong. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important health outcome of CRC survivors. Screening for CRC has the potential of preventing CRC death but there was uncertainty on its impact on HRQOL and the cost-effectiveness of different screening strategies ...postprin
Mobile technology: a study on the impact on the role of the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) tutor
This article examines an attempt by a team of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) tutors at the University of East London to evaluate the impact of mobile technology, and iPads in particular, on their role in the professional development of teachers. The study focused on the impact the iPads had on the tutor’s own role as well as considering outcomes for trainee teachers undertaking school-based placements. The study found that the use of iPads raised issues to challenge and enhance established practice and procedures within the team, as well as issues of a technical nature relating to the possibilities and limitations of the hardware and software trialled
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