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Updated: Jul 16, 2025
10:09
Fast Imaging Technique to Study Drop Impact Dynamics of Non-Newtonian Fluids
Published on: March 5, 2014
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Fast dynamics and high effective dimensionality of liquid fluidity.
C Cockrell1, O Dicks2, I T Todorov3
1Department of Materials, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ, UK. c.cockrell23@imperial.ac.uk.
Scientific Reports
|September 20, 2023
Summary
Liquid flow arises from mobile atoms moving faster than average in a distinct sub-ensemble. This non-Maxwellian velocity distribution reveals fractional high-dimensional space, unlike solids and gases.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Materials Science
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Fluidity distinguishes liquids from solids, driven by mobile transit atoms.
- The precise nature of this atomic transit motion in liquids remains poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the atomic motion responsible for liquid fluidity.
- To characterize the velocity distribution of flow-enabling transits.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of atomic motion in liquid systems.
- Characterization of velocity distributions for distinct atomic sub-ensembles.
- Investigation of the relationship between dimensionality and liquid properties.
Main Results:
- Flow-enabling transits form a distinct sub-ensemble with average atomic speeds exceeding the overall system.
- These transits exhibit a manifestly non-Maxwellian velocity distribution, unlike solids and gases.
- The non-Maxwellian distribution indicates a fractional high-dimensional space, approaching 4 at melting and exceeding 4 at higher temperatures.
Conclusions:
- Liquid fluidity is governed by a unique atomic sub-ensemble with non-Maxwellian dynamics.
- The observed fractional dimensionality provides new insights into liquid structure and behavior.
- This dimensionality is temperature and pressure-dependent, reverting to Maxwellian in solid and gas states.
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