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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Velocity distributions of granular gases with drag and with long-range interactions
K Kohlstedt1, A Snezhko, M V Sapozhnikov
1Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
Abstract:
We study velocity statistics of electrostatically driven granular gases. For two different experiments, (i) nonmagnetic particles in a viscous fluid and (ii) magnetic particles in air, the velocity distribution is non-Maxwellian, and its high-energy tail is exponential, P(upsilon) approximately exp(-/upsilon/). This behavior is consistent with the kinetic theory of driven dissipative particles. For particles immersed in a fluid, viscous damping is responsible for the exponential tail, while for magnetic particles, long-range interactions cause the exponential tail. We conclude that velocity statistics of dissipative gases are sensitive to the fluid environment and to the form of the particle interaction.
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