Recent progress in the synthesis and processing of nano-structured materials and systems calls for an improved understanding of thermal properties on small length scales. In this context, the question whether thermodynamics and, in particular, the concept of temperature can apply on the nanoscale is of central interest. Here we consider a quantum system consisting of a regular chain of elementa...

The dynamics of convectively coupled Kelvin waves and their dependence on convection scheme parameters are studied within a simplified moist general circulation model. The model consists of the primitive equations on the sphere over zonally symmetric aquaplanet, slab mixed layer ocean boundary conditions, and idealized physical parameterizations including gray radiative transfer and a simplifie...

We study the dynamics of Kelvin waves along a quantum vortex filament in the presence of mutual friction and a driving fluid while taking into account non-local effects due to Biot–Savart integrals. The Schwarz model reduces to a nonlinear and nonlocal dynamical system of dimension three, the solutions of which determine the translational and rotational motion of the Kelvin waves, as well as th...

Gas adsorption and capillary condensation of organic vapors are studied by optical interferometry, using anodized nanoporous alumina films with controlled geometry (cylindrical pores with diameters in the range of 10-60 nm). The optical response of the film is optimized with respect to the geometric parameters of the pores, for potential performance as a gas sensor device. The average thickness...

We numerically model the effects of repetitive human head motions in traumatic scenarios that are associated with severe brain injuries. Our results are based on the linear Kelvin-Voigt brain injury model, which treats the brain matter as a viscoelastic solid, and on our nonlinear generalization of that model, which emulates the gel-like character of the brain tissue. To properly compare the va...

To test proposals for the origin of oxygen absorption bands in the visible reflectance spectrum of Ganymede, the reflectance of condensed films of pure oxygen (O2) and O2-water mixtures and the evolution of O2 from the films as a function of temperature were determined. Absorption band shapes and positions for oxygen at 26 kelvin were similar to those reported for Ganymede, whereas those for th...

The Cassini spacecraft completed three close flybys of Saturn's enigmatic moon Enceladus between February and July 2005. On the third and closest flyby, on 14 July 2005, multiple Cassini instruments detected evidence for ongoing endogenic activity in a region centered on Enceladus' south pole. The polar region is the source of a plume of gas and dust, which probably emanates from prominent warm...

Wall displacements and ground pressure acting on the lining of a tunnel increase with time. These time-dependent deformations are both due to face advance effect and to the time-dependent behavior of the rock mass.  Viscoelastic materials exhibit both viscous and elastic behaviors. Thorough this study, the effect of different linear viscoelastic models including Maxwell, Kelvin and Kelvin-Voigt...

The interface between a two-dimensional (2D) molecular gas and a 2D molecular solid has been imaged with a low-temperature, ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunneling microscope. The solid consists of benzene molecules strongly bound to step edges on a Cu{111} surface. Benzene molecules on the Cu{111} terraces move freely as a 2D gas at 77 kelvin. Benzene molecules transiently occupy well-defined adso...