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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Hydrodynamic Relaxation Of An Electron Plasma To A Near-Maximum Entropy State, D. J. Rodgers, S. Servidio, W. H. Matthaeus, D. C. Montgomery, T. B. Mitchell, T. Aziz Jun 2009

Hydrodynamic Relaxation Of An Electron Plasma To A Near-Maximum Entropy State, D. J. Rodgers, S. Servidio, W. H. Matthaeus, D. C. Montgomery, T. B. Mitchell, T. Aziz

Dartmouth Scholarship

Dynamical relaxation of a pure electron plasma in a Malmberg-Penning trap is studied, comparing experiments, numerical simulations and statistical theories of weakly dissipative two-dimensional (2D) turbulence. Simulations confirm that the dynamics are approximated well by a 2D hydrodynamic model. Statistical analysis favors a theoretical picture of relaxation to a near-maximum entropy state with constrained energy, circulation, and angular momentum. This provides evidence that 2D electron fluid relaxation in a turbulent regime is governed by principles of maximum entropy.


Anthropogenic Osmium In Rain And Snow Reveals Global-Scale Atmospheric Contamination, Cynthia Chen, Peter N. Sedwick, Mukul Sharma May 2009

Anthropogenic Osmium In Rain And Snow Reveals Global-Scale Atmospheric Contamination, Cynthia Chen, Peter N. Sedwick, Mukul Sharma

Dartmouth Scholarship

Osmium is one of the rarer elements in seawater, with typical concentration of approximately 10 x 10(-15) g g(-1) (5.3 x 10(-14) mol kg(-1)). The osmium isotope composition ((187)Os/(188)Os ratio) of deep oceans is 1.05, reflecting a balance between inputs from continental crust (approximately 1.3) and mantle/cosmic dust (approximately 0.13). Here, we show that the (187)Os/(188)Os ratios measured in rain and snow collected around the world range from 0.16 to 0.48, much lower than expected (>1), but similar to the isotope composition of ores (approximately 0.2) that are processed to extract platinum and other metals to be used primarily …