How particles such as sand or water droplets behave during various processes is well studied. In general, in situations where space is limited, restrictions can occur, and understanding this can be useful in different companies. However, only cases where the particles in question are similar or have very similar sizes are successfully processed. For the first time, a model that describes the particle of very different sizes (The amazing similarity of the packed body) and different scenarios has been created.
If you’ve ever put a bunch of balls in a box, you’ve noticed the space between them all, especially if they’re all the same size. And the more the different types of balls, the more the lost space can be filled, due to the presence of small balls that can fill the space between the big ones. There is a clear understanding in this situation, but as is often the case with such things, it is surprisingly difficult to imitate how it actually happens. But the smaller the particles, or particles, are, the more difficult it is to know how they will behave in a physical model.
For the first time, researchers from the University of Tokyo’s Komaba Institute for Science have discovered a pattern that occurs when particles of equal size are grouped together, regardless of their distribution. This type of model can be very useful for users whose work involves the movement, separation, or mixing of particles. For example, factories that work with stone, sand, cement; the medical industry uses biomolecules, powders, oil droplets; manufacturers of food packages of grains, fruits, vegetables; and more, the list goes on.
“When I thought about what might be going on inside a full of mixed particles, it made me want to investigate this experimentally. However, one of the challenges is to create a model of compact packing,”said Associate Professor Miho Yanagisawa. “In our experiments, oil molecules were broken up into water repeatedly to break them down in order. This gave the particle a size that followed a mathematical formula called energy distribution. Of course the size range is very wide, and this is important so that there are no extremes shown in our results. The droplets are sandwiched between two glass plates; this forced them on two sides and prevented them from flying vertically, which is important for our image analysis.
When similar particles are restricted to two dimensions, they form a hexagonal lattice. But if the size varies, or is said to be polydisperse, this formula is broken. However, Yanagisawa and his fellow researcher Daisuke Shimamoto discovered that there is indeed a common pattern of random objects with a very large size; it is not obvious by looking at it. This model is statistical rather than geometric and describes the distribution of particles of different sizes when they are stuck. A very useful implication of this is that a more accurate particle size conversion condition that allows for denser packing can occur, which can mean smaller apertures in applications where aperture performance is important.
“Although differences in the nature of the world seem like contradictory ideas, this research shows that different things can create the world,” Yanagisawa said. “In fact, different size distributions are common in nature. Therefore, even phenomena that seem very different at first glance can hide the universe, or the universe can be revealed by comparing the distribution of the system and its clothing.
