Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Structures of Solids

Structures of Solids

Solids in which the atoms, ions, or molecules are arranged in a definite repeating pattern are known as crystalline solids. Metals and ionic compounds typically form ordered, crystalline solids. A crystalline solid has a precise melting temperature because each atom or molecule of the same type is held in place with the same forces or energy. Amorphous solids or non-crystalline solids (or, sometimes, glasses) which lack an ordered internal structure and are randomly arranged. Substances that...

First Law: Particles in Two-dimensional Equilibrium

First Law: Particles in Two-dimensional Equilibrium

Recall that a particle in equilibrium is one for which the external forces are balanced. Static equilibrium involves objects at rest, and dynamic equilibrium involves objects in motion without acceleration; but it is important to remember that these conditions are relative. For instance, an object may be at rest when viewed from one frame of reference, but that same object would appear to be in motion when viewed by someone moving at a constant velocity.
Newton's first law tells us about the...

The Seven Crystal Systems: Overview

The Seven Crystal Systems: Overview

Crystals with various point group symmetries belong to different crystal classes, which are synonymous terms. Despite being in the same class, crystals may have distinct shapes, like cubes and octahedra. There are 32 three-dimensional point groups, all of which are systematically divided into seven crystal systems.The basic cubic crystal system, exemplified by NaCl, features orthogonal vectors (α = β = �� = 90°) of equal lengths (a = b = c). When specific requirements are not imposed on the...

First Law: Particles in One-dimensional Equilibrium

First Law: Particles in One-dimensional Equilibrium

Newton's first law of motion states that a body at rest remains at rest, or if in motion, remains in motion at constant velocity, unless acted on by a net external force. It also states that there must be a cause for any change in velocity (a change in either magnitude or direction) to occur. This cause is a net external force. For example, consider what happens to an object sliding along a rough horizontal surface. The object quickly grinds to a halt, due to the net force of friction. If we...

Shape and Texture of Coarse Aggregate

Shape and Texture of Coarse Aggregate

Aggregate shape is classified based on the relative sharpness or roundness of the edges and corners. This classification includes categories like rounded, angular, elongated, and flaky, each with specific characteristics. Rounded aggregates, fully shaped by attrition, are typical of river or seashore gravel, while angular aggregates, such as crushed rock, have well-defined edges. Aggregates that are elongated and flaky are less desirable, as they can reduce the workability and strength of...

Metallic Solids

Metallic Solids

Metallic solids such as crystals of copper, aluminum, and iron are formed by metal atoms. The structure of metallic crystals is often described as a uniform distribution of atomic nuclei within a “sea” of delocalized electrons. The atoms within such a metallic solid are held together by a unique force known as metallic bonding that gives rise to many useful and varied bulk properties.
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability. Many...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Gravity-dependent rate sensitivity in granular intrusion: microgravity experiments and simulations.

NPJ microgravity·2026

Same author

Effects of particle angularity on granular self-organization.

Physical review. E·2025

Same author

Granular solids transmit stress as two-phase composites.

Physical review. E·2024

Same author

'Phase transitions' in bacteria - From structural transitions in free living bacteria to phenotypic transitions in bacteria within biofilms.

Physics of life reviews·2022

Same author

Cell surface fluctuations regulate early embryonic lineage sorting.

Cell·2022

Same author

Cell surface fluctuations regulate early embryonic lineage sorting.

Cell·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Visualization of Failure and the Associated Grain-Scale Mechanical Behavior of Granular Soils under Shear using Synchrotron X-Ray Micro-Tomography

Visualization of Failure and the Associated Grain-Scale Mechanical Behavior of Granular Soils under Shear using Synchrotron X-Ray Micro-Tomography

Published on: September 29, 2019

Structural characterization and statistical properties of two-dimensional granular systems.

Gad Frenkel¹, Raphael Blumenfeld, Zdenek Grof

¹Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom. g.frenkel@imperial.ac.uk

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

|June 4, 2008

Summary

Quadrons offer a more effective entropic characterization of disordered granular systems than individual grains. Friction influences overall structure, while grain properties dictate conditional distributions, revealing distinct roles in granular assembly.

More Related Videos

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids

Published on: December 4, 2017

Analysis and Specification of Starch Granule Size Distributions

Analysis and Specification of Starch Granule Size Distributions

Published on: March 4, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Visualization of Failure and the Associated Grain-Scale Mechanical Behavior of Granular Soils under Shear using Synchrotron X-Ray Micro-Tomography

Visualization of Failure and the Associated Grain-Scale Mechanical Behavior of Granular Soils under Shear using Synchrotron X-Ray Micro-Tomography

Published on: September 29, 2019

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids

Published on: December 4, 2017

Analysis and Specification of Starch Granule Size Distributions

Analysis and Specification of Starch Granule Size Distributions

Published on: March 4, 2021

Area of Science:

Physics
Materials Science
Statistical Mechanics

Background:

Disordered granular assemblies are common in nature and industry.
Understanding their structure is crucial for predicting material behavior.
Existing methods may not fully capture the complexity of these systems.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the entropic characterization of granular assemblies using grains versus quadrons.
To investigate the influence of friction, grain shape, and size distributions on structure.
To quantify the statistics of basic volume elements for entropic analysis.

Main Methods:

A recently developed method for analyzing planar disordered granular assemblies.
Partitioning assemblies into volume elements: grains and quadrons.
Quantitative analysis of volume distributions and conditional distributions.

Main Results:

Quadrons are superior to grains as fundamental units for entropic formalism.
Volume distributions exhibit complex features, best understood through quadron-based conditional distributions.
Friction increases mean cell size but does not alter conditional distributions; grain properties govern these distributions.

Conclusions:

Grain size/shape distributions determine conditional distributions; friction and packing influence their relative weights.
Gamma distributions are inadequate for describing general granular systems' volume statistics.
The study provides quantitative insights into granular system structures and their comparison to foam-like models.