Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
High-energy velocity tails in uniformly heated granular materials
Yangrui Chen1, Jie Zhang1,2
1School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Abstract:
We experimentally investigate the velocity distributions of quasi-two-dimensional granular materials uniformly heated by an electromagnetic vibrator, where the translational velocity and the rotation of a single particle are Gaussian and independent. We observe the non-Gaussian distributions of particle velocity, with the density-independent high-energy tails characterized by an exponent of β=1.50±0.03 for volume fractions of 0.111≤ϕ≤0.832, covering a wide range of structures and dynamics. Surprisingly, our results are not only in excellent agreement with the prediction of the kinetic theories of granular gas but also hold for an extremely high-volume fraction of ϕ=0.832 where the granular material forms a crystalline solid and the kinetic theory of granular gas fails fantastically. Our experiment suggests that the density-independent high-energy velocity tails of β=1.50 are a characteristic of uniformly heated granular matter.
More Related Videos
11:51Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions
Published on: February 22, 2018
09:00Visualization 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
Related Concept Videos
Distribution of Molecular Speeds
Kinetic Molecular Theory: Molecular Velocities, Temperature, and Kinetic Energy
First Law: Particles in One-dimensional Equilibrium
Molecular Kinetic Energy
First Law: Particles in Two-dimensional Equilibrium
Newton's first law tells us about...
Types of Kinetic Energy
There are several different forms of kinetic energy, including mechanical, electrical, radiant, and thermal energy. Mechanical energy is...