PHYSICAL REVIEW FOCUS 10 March 2006 http://focus.aps.org/
David Ehrenstein, American Physical Society
Introductions to the Focus stories of the past week;
Visit http://focus.aps.org for the complete stories.
OFF THE WALL
When the sun-baked ground heats adjacent air, the hot air rises and
the cooler air sinks, in a chaotic flow called turbulent convection.
Although similar flows affect everything from computer chips to air
conditioning, researchers haven't managed to measure how the heat flow
behaves far from the heated surface. In the 3 March PRL, French
researchers describe the first such experiments, using a sensitive
arrangement of thermometers in a cell of heated water. The team also
determined the size of the "blobs" of warm water that carry the heat
and proposed a way to measure heat flow in less controlled situations,
such as the atmosphere. The results could help researchers better
understand convection high in the atmosphere and inside of stars.
(M. Gibert et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 084501)
Link to the paper: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v96/e084501
COMPLETE Focus story at http://focus.aps.org/story/v17/st9
Also from PRL (stories from AIP's Physics News Update):
FORMATION OF LARGE FLUID VORTICES: CORPORATE MERGER OR HOSTILE
TAKEOVER?
Story at http://www.aip.org/pnu/2006/split/767-2.html
(S. Chen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 084502)
AMERICA'S HOTTEST LAB
Story at http://www.aip.org/pnu/2006/split/767-3.html
(M.G. Haines et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 075003)
ATOM WIRES
Story at http://www.aip.org/pnu/2006/split/767-1.html
(P.C. Snijders et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 076801)
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Copyright 2006, The American Physical Society.
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