Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Strongly anisotropic nonequilibrium phase transition in Ising models with friction
Sebastian Angst1, Alfred Hucht, Dietrich E Wolf
1Fakultät für Physik und CeNIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, D-47048 Duisburg, Germany.
Abstract:
The nonequilibrium phase transition in driven two-dimensional Ising models with two different geometries is investigated using Monte Carlo methods as well as analytical calculations. The models show dissipation through fluctuation induced friction near the critical point. We first consider high driving velocities and demonstrate that both systems are in the same universality class and undergo a strongly anisotropic nonequilibrium phase transition, with anisotropy exponent θ=3. Within a field theoretical ansatz the simulation results are confirmed. The crossover from Ising to mean field behavior in dependency of system size and driving velocity is analyzed using crossover scaling. It turns out that for all finite velocities the phase transition becomes strongly anisotropic in the thermodynamic limit.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Types of Friction Problems
The first type of dry friction problem involves situations where there is no apparent impending motion.
Static Friction
For example, consider a scenario where a truck is connected to a car by a rope, ready to tow it along a road. When no external force is applied by the truck, the car remains stationary and is said to be in static equilibrium. In this case, the forces acting on the car, such as gravity and the...

