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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Entropy and temperature of a static granular assembly: an ab initio approach
Silke Henkes1, Corey S O'Hern, Bulbul Chakraborty
1Martin Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110, USA.
Abstract:
We construct a statistical framework for static assemblies of deformable grains which parallels that of equilibrium statistical mechanics but with a conservation principle based on the mechanical stress tensor. We define a state function that has all the attributes of entropy. In particular, maximizing this function leads to a well-defined granular temperature and the equivalent of the Boltzman distribution for ensembles of grain packings. Predictions of the ensemble are verified against simulated packings of frictionless, deformable disks.
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