Meta-Materials

In General > s.a. electronic technology; Foam; optical technology [photonic crystal].
* Idea: Materials whose bulk properties result from unusual arrangements of more elementary matter.
* Foams: Most of them contain mostly air (95%) and some liquid (5%), yet behave like springy solids; They have a phase transition of sorts as the liquid content varies, with critical point occuring when it is so high (roughly 37% by volume) that the air bubbles are completely spherical and only touch each other at one point, when bubbles cease to be stacked in a semi-solid and begin to float freely inside a flowing liquid.
* Other examples: Photonic crystrals (> see technology); Left-handed structures, with negative and , made of Cu wires and rings.
* Other applications: Proposed invisibility cloak designs [@ news sr(06)may].
@ General references: Banhart & Weaire PT(02)jul [metal foams]; Khaldoun et al Nat(05)sep + pn(05)nov [quicksand]; Guenneau et al NJP(07) [acoustic metamaterials for sound focusing and confinement].
@ Left-handed: Smith et al PRL(00) [, < 0]; news pn(00)mar; news pw(07)mar [for 813-nm infrared light]; > s.a. Refraction.
@ Invisibility cloaks: Alù & Engheta PRE(05)cm [transparency with plasmonic coatings]; Leonhardt & Philbin pw(06)sep; Weder JPA(08)-a0704 [theoretical analysis]; Lai et al PRL(09) + Philbin Phy(09); Lai et al PRL(09) [illusion optics]; Guevara et al a0907/OE [broadband].
@ Hollow nanoparticle lubricants: Rapoport et al Nat(97)jun.
@ Soap: Lovett 94 [films]; Hass & Schlafly AS(96) [double bubbles].

Granular Matter > s.a. spheres [sphere packings].
* Idea: A type of metamaterial; Examples are sand, powders, nuts, sugar, coal; Normal ground is about 40% air.
* Properties: Some are shared with solids (they support a load), some with liquids (they pour); Characteristics do not depend on T, because typically E kT.
* Importance: Mixing, sifting, mining, erosion process; galaxies?
* Brazil nut problem: How do they find their way to the top of a bowl, while smaller nuts filter to the bottom?
@ General references: Mehta ed-94; Jaeger et al PT(96)apr, RMP(96); Jaeger & Nagel AS(97); Arenzon JPA(99) [replica theory]; Ristow 00 [r PT(01)apr]; Duran 00 [r PT(01)apr]; Kakalios AJP(05)jan-RL; Aranson & Tsimring RMP(06) [patterns and collective behavior]; Al-Raoush PhyA(07) [microstructure properties].
@ Related topics: Umbanhowar et al Nat(96)aug + pn(96)sep [particle-like excitations]; Shinbrot et al Nat(99)feb + pn(99)mar [chaotic mixing]; Falcon et al PRL(99) + pn(99)jul [low gravity clustering]; Hong et al PRL(01) [Brazil nut problem]; Valverde et al CP(03) [Hurst rescaled range analysis]; Coniglio et al PhyA(04) [Edwards' theory], PhyA(04) [jamming transition]; Tighe & Sperl GM(07)phy/06 [Hagen's 1852 paper on pressure and motion]; > s.a. gas [clustering in granular gas].

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