Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Trapping of Micro Particles in Nanoplasmonic Optical Lattice
Published on: September 5, 2017
Thermal fluctuations in the lattice Boltzmann method for nonideal fluids
M Gross1, R Adhikari, M E Cates
1Interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Materials Simulation (ICAMS), Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Stiepeler Strasse 129, 44801 Bochum, Germany. markus.gross@rub.de
Abstract:
We introduce thermal fluctuations in the lattice Boltzmann method for nonideal fluids. A fluctuation-dissipation theorem is derived within the Langevin framework and applied to a specific lattice Boltzmann model that approximates the linearized fluctuating Navier-Stokes equations for fluids based on square-gradient free-energy functionals. The obtained thermal noise is shown to ensure equilibration of all degrees of freedom in a simulation to high accuracy. Furthermore, we demonstrate that satisfactory results for most practical applications of fluctuating hydrodynamics can already be achieved using thermal noise derived in the long-wavelength limit.
Related Concept Videos
Distribution of Molecular Speeds
Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution: Problem Solving
This distribution function f(v) is defined by saying that the expected number N (v1,v2) of particles with speeds between v1 and v2 is given by
Deviation from Ideal Behaviour
Absolute Entropies and the Third Law of Thermodynamics
Carrier Transport
Drift Current:
The drift of charge carriers is started by an external electric field (E). Charged particles, such as electrons and holes, experience an acceleration between collisions with lattice atoms. For electrons, this results in a drift velocity (vd) given by:
Heat Capacities of an Ideal Gas III

