We review our studies of elastic lattices driven by an external force F in the presence of random disorder, which correspond to the case of vortices in superconducting thin films driven by external currents. Above a critical force Fc we find two dynamical phase transitions at Fp and Ft , with Fc < Fp < Ft . At Fp there is a transition from plastic flow to smectic flow where the noise is isotrop...

Isothermal melt crystallization kinetics of PVDF was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. Thin PVDF film has been fabricated by the solvent casting technique using dimethylformamide (DMF). Then, the samples were melted and subsequently crystallized in the range of the crystallization temperature (Tc) between 138 and 145 °C. The crystallization kinetics was derived from Avrami equa...

We use a swap Monte Carlo algorithm to numerically prepare bulk glasses with kinetic stability comparable to that of glass films produced experimentally by physical vapor deposition. By melting these systems into the liquid state, we show that some of our glasses retain their amorphous structures longer than 10 times the equilibrium structural relaxation time. This “exceptional” kinetic stabili...

We present measurements of the growth rates of the principal facet surfaces of ice from water vapor as a function of supersaturation over the temperature range −2 ≥ T ≥ −40 C. Our data are well described by a dislocation-free layer-nucleationmodel, parameterized by the attachment coefficient as a function of supersaturation α(σ) = A exp(−σ0/σ). The measured parameters A(T ) and σ0(T ) for the b...

It is known that crystalline amylopectin of starch plays a role of resistant starch. Although crystalline amylopectin of starchy food melts almost completely during its heat-processing, the melting may be prevented by a pre-dehydration treatment, because melting temperature of the crystalline amylopectin increases with a decrease in the water content of starch. In order to some insight into the...

A density-of-states Monte Carlo method is proposed for simulations of solid-liquid phase equilibria. A modified Wang-Landau density-of-states sampling approach is used to perform a random walk in regions of potential energy and volume relevant to solid-liquid equilibrium. The method provides a direct estimate of the relative density of states [Omega(U,V)] and thus the relative free energy withi...

The role of aliphatic alcohols on the temperatures of the helix-coil (Trr) and of the melting transformation (Tr) for collagen in water solutions was investigated. Alcohols used were CH,OH, C2H50H, and C3H70H and the role of chloroethanol was also investigated. The results indicate that on increasing alcohol concentration both Tr and Trr are initially depressed (i.e. the random coil form is fav...

The melting curves of short heterogeneous DNA chains in solution are calculated on the basis of statistical thermodynamics and compared to experiments. The computation of the partition function is based on the Peyrard-Bishop hamiltonian, which has already been adopted in the theoretical description of the melting of long DNA chains. In the case of short chains it is necessary to consider not on...

S U M M A R Y We develop a self-consistent thermodynamic description of silicate liquids applicable across the entire mantle pressure and temperature regime. The description combines the finite strain free energy expansion with an account of the temperature dependence of liquid properties into a single fundamental relation, while honouring the expected limiting behaviour at large volume and hig...

Peaks in the probabilities of loops or bubbles, helical segments, and unzipping ends in melting DNA are found in this article using a peak finding method that maps the hierarchical structure of certain energy landscapes. The peaks indicate the alternative conformations that coexist in equilibrium and the range of their fluctuations. This yields a representation of the conformational ensemble at...