The dynamics of mechanical systems with dry friction elements, modeled by set-valued force laws, can be described by differential inclusions. The switching and set-valued nature of the friction force law is responsible for the hybrid character of such models. An equilibrium set of such a differential inclusion corresponds to a stationary mode for which the friction elements are sticking. The at...

Chaotic transport in a laminar fluid flow in a rotating annulus is studied experimentally by tracking large numbers of tracer particles for long times. Sticking and unsticking of particles to remnants of invariant surfaces (Cantori) around vortices results in superdiffusion: The variance of the displacement grows with time as t~ with p = 1.65+0.15. Sticking and flight time probability distribut...

A novel experimental scheme has been developed in order to measure the heat capacity of mass selected clusters. It is based on controlled sticking of atoms on clusters. This allows one to construct the caloric curve, thus determining the melting temperature and the latent heat of fusion in the case of first-order phase transitions. This method is model-free. It is transferable to many systems s...

Most people believe that they should avoid changing their answer when taking multiple-choice tests. Virtually all research on this topic, however, has suggested that this strategy is ill-founded: Most answer changes are from incorrect to correct, and people who change their answers usually improve their test scores. Why do people believe in this strategy if the data so strongly refute it? The a...

Most people believe that they should avoid changing their answer when taking multiple-choice tests. Virtually all research on this topic, however, has suggested that this strategy is ill-founded: Most answer changes are from incorrect to correct, and people who change their answers usually improve their test scores. Why do people believe in this strategy if the data so strongly refute it? The a...

As an application of quantum fluid mechanics, we consider the drag force exerted on a sphere by an ultradilute gas. Quantum mechanical diffraction scattering theory enters in that regime wherein the mean free path of a molecule in the gas is large compared with the sphere radius. The drag force is computed in a model specified by the "sticking fraction" of events in which a gaseous molecule is ...

Ne~ experimental results on muon-catalyzed d-t fusion are reported. Unexpected target-density effects have been discovered both in dt p, molecular formation in t p, + 02 collisions and in the effective sticking probability. The dt p. formation rate is significantly enhanced at high density, presumably because of a strong three-body contribution. The origin of the observed reduction of the stick...