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Hydrodynamics of liquids of chiral molecules and suspensions containing chiral particles
A V Andreev1, D T Son, B Spivak
1Physics Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Abstract:
We obtain hydrodynamic equations describing a fluid consisting of chiral molecules or a suspension of chiral particles in a Newtonian fluid. The hydrodynamic velocity and stresses arising in a flowing chiral liquid have components that are forbidden by symmetry in a Newtonian liquid. For example, a chiral liquid in a Poiseuille flow between parallel plates exerts forces on the plates, which are perpendicular to the flow. A generic flow results in spatial separation of particles of different chirality. Thus even a racemic suspension will exhibit chiral properties in a generic flow. A suspension of particles of random shape in a Newtonian liquid is described by equations which are similar to those describing a racemic mixture of chiral particles in a liquid.
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