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In fire spread simulations, heat transfer and pyrolysis are processes to describe the thermal degradation of solid material. In general, the necessary material parameters cannot be directly measured. They are implicitly deduced from micro-…
We present Particle Builder, an online board game which teaches students about concepts from the Standard Model of Particle Physics at a high school level. This short activity resulted in a gain of 0.16, indicating that students learned a…
There is general agreement that creativity and innovation are desirable traits in the toolbox of 21\textsuperscript{st} century engineers, as well as in the future workforce in general. However, there is a dearth of exemplars, pedagogical…
The standard formula that describes the thermal expansion of a solid creates several puzzles for discerning students. Three puzzles are reviewed, and their common resolution discussed both conceptually and quantitatively.
Building on the fundamental equation, this study revisits key thermodynamic concepts in a cohesive and innovative manner. It demonstrates the consistency of thermodynamic theory while addressing and clarifying common misconceptions and…
We present a simple mechanical model for dynamic wetting phenomena. Metallic balls spread along a periodically corrugated surface simulating molecules of liquid advancing along a solid substrate. A vertical stack of balls mimics a liquid…
Even if students can make the blend, interpret physics correctly in mathematical symbology and graphs, they still need to be able to apply that knowledge in productive and coherent ways. As instructors, we can show our solutions to complex…
Years ago Edwards proposed a thermodynamic description of dense granular matter, in which the grains (the `atoms' of the system) interact with inelastic forces. The approach is intriguing but is not justified from first principles, and…
Gradual crustal deformation can generate strongly twisted magnetic fields around magnetars, potentially triggering giant flares with total energies exceeding $10^{44}\,\mathrm{erg}$. In this Letter, we present the first relativistic…
The fireball, the promising model of the gamma-ray burst (GRB), is an opaque radiation plasma, whose energy is significantly greater than its rest mass. We numerically simulate the evolution of the fireball heated by the…
Physical principles are involved in almost any aspect of cooking. Here we analyze the specific process of baking pizzas, deriving in simple terms the baking times for two different situations: For a brick oven in a pizzeria and a modern…
The pre-patterning of a substrate to create energetically more attractive or repulsive regions allows one to generate a variety of structures in physical vapor deposition experiments. A particular interesting structure is generated if the…
In a set of 16 drop tower experiments the motion of sub-mm to mm-sized particles under microgravity was observed. Illumination by a halogen lamp induced acceleration of the particles due to photophoresis. Photophoresis on dust-free…
Energy is a complex idea that cuts across scientific disciplines. For life science students, an approach to energy that incorporates chemical bonds and chemical reactions is better equipped to meet the needs of life sciences students than a…
A scintillator is a material which converts incoming ionizing energy into visible light. This conversion process, which is a strongly nonlinear one, can be described by a Reaction-Diffusion-Drift equation we obtain from a model of continua…
International Masterclasses are events for high school students that enable them to act as "particle physicists for day" by analyzing authentic data from particle physics experiments under the tutelage of scientists. International…
A hybrid numerical model previously developed for combustion simulations is extended in this article to describe flame propagation and stabilization in porous media. The model, with a special focus on flame/wall interaction processes, is…
Semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) are light emitters with high quantum yield that are relatively easy to manufacture. There is therefore much interest in their possible application for the development of high-performance…
Ignition is a critical process in combustion systems. In aeronautical combustors, altitude relight capacities are required in case of accidental extinction of the chamber. A simultaneous study of light-round ignition in an annular…
A nanometer-sized dielectric particle lying on a dielectric substrate is exposed to the flux of low-energy electrons, ion and electron fluxes from a cold plasma and the fluxes from the combination of these two sources with the help of…