Document Detail


A phase diagram for jammed matter.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  18509438     Owner:  NLM     Status:  PubMed-not-MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The problem of finding the most efficient way to pack spheres has a long history, dating back to the crystalline arrays conjectured by Kepler and the random geometries explored by Bernal. Apart from its mathematical interest, the problem has practical relevance in a wide range of fields, from granular processing to fruit packing. There are currently numerous experiments showing that the loosest way to pack spheres (random loose packing) gives a density of approximately 55 per cent. On the other hand, the most compact way to pack spheres (random close packing) results in a maximum density of approximately 64 per cent. Although these values seem to be robust, there is as yet no physical interpretation for them. Here we present a statistical description of jammed states in which random close packing can be interpreted as the ground state of the ensemble of jammed matter. Our approach demonstrates that random packings of hard spheres in three dimensions cannot exceed a density limit of approximately 63.4 per cent. We construct a phase diagram that provides a unified view of the hard-sphere packing problem and illuminates various data, including the random-loose-packed state.
Authors:
Chaoming Song; Ping Wang; Hernán A Makse
Related Documents :
11969628 - Non-hermitian localization and delocalization.
19025258 - Looking inside and out: the impact of employee and community demographic composition on...
14650668 - The function of phenomenal states: is there progress for the "softer problem" of consci...
16094638 - The intelligence community and the war on terror: the role of behavioral science.
11723958 - 'the dungeon of thyself': the claustrum as pathological container.
17505928 - The effects of individual- and community-level knowledge, beliefs, and fear on stigmati...
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Nature     Volume:  453     ISSN:  1476-4687     ISO Abbreviation:  Nature     Publication Date:  2008 May 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-05-29     Completed Date:  2008-07-03     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0410462     Medline TA:  Nature     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  629-32     Citation Subset:  -    
Affiliation:
Levich Institute and Physics Department, City College of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Comments/Corrections
Comment In:
Nature. 2008 May 29;453(7195):606-7   [PMID:  18509434 ]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  An infrared ring around the magnetar SGR 1900+14.
Next Document:  Quantum phase transition in a single-molecule quantum dot.