Related papers: Closing a catenary loop: the lariat chain, the str…
The string shooter experiment uses counter-rotating pulleys to propel a closed string forward. Its steady state exhibits a transition from a gravity dominated regime at low velocity towards a high velocity regime where the string takes the…
We report on the geometry and mechanics of knotted stiff strings. We discuss both closed and open knots. Our two main results are: (i) Their equilibrium energy as well as the equilibrium tension for open knots depend on the type of knot as…
One cannot pull an open, curved string along itself. This fact is clearly reflected in the unwrapping motion of a string or chain as it is dragged around an object, and implies strong consequences for slender structures in passive…
The closed string carrying $n$ point-like masses is considered as the model of a baryon ($n=3$), a glueball ($n=2$ or 3) or another exotic hadron. For this system the rotational states are obtained and classified. They correspond to exact…
Hard spheres in Newtonian fluids serve as paradigms for Non-Newtonian materials phenomena exhibited by colloidal suspensions. A recent experimental study (Cheng et al. 2011 Science, 333, 1276) showed that upon application of shear to such a…
A new solution of a charged catenary is presented which allows to determine the static stability conditions where charged liquid bridges or charged hanging robes are possible.
If a long chain is held in a pot elevated a distance h_1 above the floor, and the end of the chain is then dragged over the rim of the pot and released, the chain flows under gravity down into a pile on the floor. Not only does the chain…
A loop of chain can move along its own tangents, maintaining a steady shape. An open-ended chain undergoing a nontrivial motion must change its shape. One consequence is that chains pulled around objects will fail to follow the contours of…
The closed relativistic string carrying a point-like mass in the space with nontrivial geometry is considered. For rotational states of this system (resulting in non-trivial Regge trajectories) the stability problem is solved. It was shown…
For the closed string carrying 2 or 3 point-like masses the stability problem for central and linear rotational states is considered. This problem is important for applications of these model to describing baryons, glueballs or other exotic…
The dynamics of extended objects, such as strings and membranes, has attracted more attention in the past decades since the fundamental objects introduced in high-energy physics are no longer pointlike. Their motion is generally quite…
The linear instability of a beam tensioned by its own weight is considered. It is shown that for long beams, in the sense of an adequate dimensionless parameter, the characteristics of the instability caused by a follower force do not…
Many physical systems can be modelled as parameter-dependent variational problems. In numerous cases, multiple equilibria co-exist, requiring the evaluation of their stability, and the monitoring of transitions between them. Generally, the…
We address the satisfiability problem for string constraints that combine relational constraints represented by transducers, word equations, and string length constraints. This problem is undecidable in general. Therefore, we propose a new…
A freely falling chain from a cup at certain height can jump. The process can be divided into two parts: a stable suspension and an accelerating procedure. Variational principle and force analysis demonstrate that the shape of stable…
This work explores a simple model of a slender, flexible structure in a uniform flow, providing analytical solutions for the translating, axially flowing equilibria of strings subjected to a uniform body force and drag forces linear in the…
A line of hard spheres confined by a transverse harmonic potential, with hard walls at its ends, exhibits a variety of buckled structures as it is compressed longitudinally. Here we show that these may be conveniently observed in a rotating…
In recent years the chain fountain became prominent for its counter-intuitive fascinating physical behavior. Most widely known is the experiment in which a long chain leaves an elevated beaker like a fountain and falls to the ground under…
String breaking is at the core of hadronization models of relevance to particle colliders. Yet, studies of string-breaking dynamics rooted in quantum chromodynamics remain fundamentally challenging. Tensor networks enable sign-problem-free…
The application of variational principles for analyzing problems in the physical sciences is widespread. Cantilever-like problems, where one end is fixed and the other end is free, have received less attention in terms of their stability…