Tag Archives: computer simulation

Fluid Cathedrals: Gels Under the Microscope

ANN ARBOR— A dollop of hair gel might not look like much, but Michigan Engineering researchers have found that it’s a labyrinth of chambers and domes, constructed by the particles inside. These structures allow the gel to hold its shape and determine how much pressure it can withstand before it starts to flow.

While manufacturers currently use trial and error to develop gels with a particular degree of solidity, this discovery could provide a way to design gels for particular applications. (more…)

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Entropy Can Lead to Order, Paving The Route to Nanostructures

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Researchers trying to herd tiny particles into useful ordered formations have found an unlikely ally: entropy, a tendency generally described as “disorder.”

Computer simulations by University of Michigan scientists and engineers show that the property can nudge particles to form organized structures. By analyzing the shapes of the particles beforehand, they can even predict what kinds of structures will form.

The findings, published in this week’s edition of Science, help lay the ground rules for making designer materials with wild capabilities such as shape-shifting skins to camouflage a vehicle or optimize its aerodynamics. (more…)

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Organics Probably Formed Easily in Early Solar System

Complex organic compounds, including many important to life on Earth, were readily produced under conditions that likely prevailed in the primordial solar system. Scientists at the University of Chicago and NASA Ames Research Center came to this conclusion after linking computer simulations to laboratory experiments.

Fred Ciesla, assistant professor in geophysical sciences at UChicago, simulated the dynamics of the solar nebula, the cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and the planets formed. Although every dust particle within the nebula behaved differently, they all experienced the conditions needed for organics to form over a simulated million-year period. (more…)

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Mars: Red Planet’s Rapid Formation Explains Its Small Size Relative to Earth

*Mars developed far more quickly than our blue planet*

Mars developed in as little as two to four million years after the birth of the solar system, far more quickly than Earth, according to results of a new study published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

The red planet’s rapid formation helps explain why it is so small, say the study’s co-authors, Nicolas Dauphas at the University of Chicago and Ali Pourmand at the University of Miami. (more…)

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Simulating Human Decision-Making Could Improve Emergency Evacuation Planning

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A unique disaster-response planning tool takes real-time human decision-making into account to determine effective law-enforcement strategies during evacuations. A University of Michigan researcher contributed to the development of the tool. (more…)

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