Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures
Published on: May 21, 2014
Small-number statistics near the clustering transition in a compartmentalized granular gas
René Mikkelsen1, Ko van der Weele, Devaraj van der Meer
1Department of Science and Technology and J. M. Burgers Centre for Fluid Dynamics, University of Twente, P. O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Statistical fluctuations are observed to profoundly influence the clustering behavior of granular material in a vibrated system consisting of two connected compartments. When the number of particles N is sufficiently large ( N approximately 300 is sufficient), the clustering follows the lines of a standard second-order phase transition and a mean-field description works. For smaller N , however, the enhanced influence of statistical fluctuations breaks the mean-field behavior. We quantitatively describe the competition between fluctuations and mean-field behavior (as a function of N ) using a dynamical flux model and molecular dynamics simulations.
Related Concept Videos
Behavior of Gas Molecules: Molecular Diffusion, Mean Free Path, and Effusion
Mean free path and Mean free time
Compartment Models: Single-Compartment Model
Physical Principles Governing Gas Exchange
Gas Laws Governing Respiration
The behavior of gases is guided by Dalton's Law of partial pressures and Henry's Law.
Dalton's Law asserts that the total pressure exerted by...
The Kinetic Model of Gases
Entropy Changes Accompanying Specific Processes

