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arXiv · 1407.7224

Why Granular Media Are, After All, Thermal

Yimin Jiang·Mario Liu
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Abstract

Granular media are considered "athermal", because the grains are too large to display Brownian type thermal fluctuations. Yet being macroscopic, every grain undergoes thermal expansion, possesses a temperature that may be measured with a thermometer, and consists of many, many internal degrees of freedom that in their sum do affect granular dynamics. Therefore, including them in a comprehensive approach to account for granular behavior entails crucial advantages. The pros and cons of thermal versus athermal descriptions are considered.

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Yimin Jiang, Mario Liu. 2014-07-27. Why Granular Media Are, After All, Thermal. https://arxiv.org/abs/1407.7224

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