Geometrical Optics of Dense Aerosols
Authors: Michael J. Hay, Ernest J. Valeo and Nathaniel J. Fisch
Abstract:
Assembling a free-standing, sharp-edged slab of homogeneous material that is much denser than gas, but much more rarefied than a solid, is an outstanding technological challenge. The solution may lie in focusing a dense aerosol to assume this geometry. However, whereas the geometrical optics of dilute aerosols is a well-developed field, the dense aerosol limit is mostly unexplored. Yet controlling the geometrical optics of dense aerosols is necessary in preparing such a material slab. Focusing dense aerosols is shown here to be possible, but the finite particle density reduces the effective Stokes number of the flow, a critical result for controlled focusing.
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Accepted for publication in: Physical Review Letters (October 25, 2013)
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Download PPPL-4870 (pdf 274 KB 5 pp)
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