2 ms·

Gravity alters the dynamics of a phase transition

6 points by westurner 2y ago

westurner 2y ago
> An experiment uncovers the role played by gravity in Ostwald ripening, a spontaneous thermodynamic process responsible for many effects such as the recrystallization of ice cream. Ostwald ripening: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostwald_ripening https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostwald_ripening
- westurner 2y ago
  And yet another parameter to phase transition diagrams: Mpemba effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect : > The Mpemba effect is the name given to the observation that a liquid (typically water) which is initially hot can freeze faster than the same liquid which begins cold, under otherwise similar condition
  - westurner 2y ago
    From "Exploring Quantum Mpemba Effects" (2024) https://physics.aps.org/articles/v17/105 https://physics.aps.org/articles/v17/105 : > Under certain conditions, warm water can freeze faster than cold water. This phenomenon was named the Mpemba effect after Erasto Mpemba, a Tanzanian high schooler who described the effect in the 1960s [1]. The phenomenon has sparked intense debates for more than two millennia and continues to do so [2]. Similar processes, in which a system relaxes to equilibrium more quickly if it is initially further away from equilibrium, are being intensely explored in the microscopic world. Now three research teams provide distinct perspectives on quantum versions of Mpemba-like effects, emphasizing the impact of strong interparticle correlations, minuscule quantum fluctuations, and initial conditions on these relaxation processes [3–5]. The teams’ findings advance quantum thermodynamics and have potential implications for technologies, ranging from information processors to engines, powered by quantum resources.
sharpshadow 2y ago
Well written article and somehow "evaporation–condensation mechanisms" with the "...effect of gravitation into phase-transition dynamics..." makes me think about weather manipulation.

6 points by westurner 2y ago

> An experiment uncovers the role played by gravity in Ostwald ripening, a spontaneous thermodynamic process responsible for many effects such as the recrystallization of ice cream. Ostwald ripening: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostwald_ripening https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostwald_ripening

westurner 2y ago
And yet another parameter to phase transition diagrams: Mpemba effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect : > The Mpemba effect is the name given to the observation that a liquid (typically water) which is initially hot can freeze faster than the same liquid which begins cold, under otherwise similar condition
- westurner 2y ago
  From "Exploring Quantum Mpemba Effects" (2024) https://physics.aps.org/articles/v17/105 https://physics.aps.org/articles/v17/105 : > Under certain conditions, warm water can freeze faster than cold water. This phenomenon was named the Mpemba effect after Erasto Mpemba, a Tanzanian high schooler who described the effect in the 1960s [1]. The phenomenon has sparked intense debates for more than two millennia and continues to do so [2]. Similar processes, in which a system relaxes to equilibrium more quickly if it is initially further away from equilibrium, are being intensely explored in the microscopic world. Now three research teams provide distinct perspectives on quantum versions of Mpemba-like effects, emphasizing the impact of strong interparticle correlations, minuscule quantum fluctuations, and initial conditions on these relaxation processes [3–5]. The teams’ findings advance quantum thermodynamics and have potential implications for technologies, ranging from information processors to engines, powered by quantum resources.

sharpshadow 2y ago

Well written article and somehow "evaporation–condensation mechanisms" with the "...effect of gravitation into phase-transition dynamics..." makes me think about weather manipulation.