* * On Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 1:52 PM, Steve Smith <sasm...@swcp.com> wrote:
> I've always wondered how sophisticated the algorithms for arranging > windmills might be. > > Here's a micro-engineering variation to keep you out of macro-trouble. Now -- back into macro-trouble again -- if you had a flock of egg-beater generators on a piece of Iowa farmland, could you run them as mixers and give a tornado a leg up over the next town down wind? -- rec -- Synchronization and Collective Dynamics in a Carpet of Microfluidic Rotors. (arXiv:0911.4253v1 [cond-mat.soft]) <http://arxiv.org/abs/0911.4253> from cond-mat.stat-mech updates on arXiv.org</reader/view/feed/http%3A%2F%2Farxiv.org%2Frss%2Fcond-mat.stat-mech> by <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/cond-mat/1/au:+Uchida_N/0/1/0/all/0/1";>Nariya Uchida</a>, <a href=" http://arxiv.org/find/cond-mat/1/au:+Golestanian_R/0/1/0/all/0/1";>Ramin Golestanian</a> We study synchronization of an *array* of rotors on a substrate that are coupled by hydrodynamic interaction. The rotors that are modeled by an effective rigid body, are driven by an internal torque and exerts an active force on the surrounding fluid. The long-ranged nature of the hydrodynamic interaction between the rotors causes a rich pattern of dynamical behaviors including phase ordering and turbulent spiral waves. The model provides a novel example of coupled oscillators with long-range interaction. Our results suggest strategies for designing controllable microfluidic mixers using the emergent behavior of hydrodynamically coupled active components.
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