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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Analyses Of Densely Crosslinked Phenolic Systems Using Low Field Nmr, Jigneshkumar Patel Nov 2017

Analyses Of Densely Crosslinked Phenolic Systems Using Low Field Nmr, Jigneshkumar Patel

Doctoral Dissertations

A uniform dispersion of reactants is necessary to achieve a complete reaction involving multi-components, especially for the crosslinking of rigid high-performance materials. In these reactions, miscibility is crucial for curing efficiency. This miscibility is typically enhanced by adding a third component, a plasticizer. For the reaction of the highly crystalline crosslinking agent hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) with a strongly hydrogen-bonded phenol formaldehyde resin, furfural has been traditionally used as the plasticizer. However, the reason for its effectiveness is not clear. In this doctoral thesis work, miscibility and crosslinking efficiency of plasticizers in phenolic curing reactions are studied by thermal analysis and spectroscopic …


Interface Driven Dynamics And Assembly, Wei Hong Nov 2017

Interface Driven Dynamics And Assembly, Wei Hong

Doctoral Dissertations

Interfaces between two substances (e.g., gas / liquid, liquid / liquid) are ubiquitous in nature and industry. In this project, we study two important aspects of interface: interface driven dynamics and assembly. In the area of interface driven dynamics, we conduct experiments to study how interfacial capillarity drives flow of wax inside paper under controlled temperature and pressure. The findings lead to the ability to manufacture high-resolution paper-based microfluidic devices. In the area of interface driven assembly, we study how to tune interfacial electrostatic potential and how this potential can enhance or suppress colloidal particle assembly to the interface. We …


Morphology Of Thin Sheets In The Lame Setup And Beyond, Zhanlong Qiu Mar 2017

Morphology Of Thin Sheets In The Lame Setup And Beyond, Zhanlong Qiu

Doctoral Dissertations

We present a general analytical approach to study the wrinkling phenomena in the Lame, sheet on drop, drop on sheet, and twisted ribbon setups. In the partially single-mode wrinkle pattern, we employ the boundary layer analysis to regularize the divergence in the energy and obtain the optimal wavenumber. In the multi-mode wrinkle pattern scenario, we consider the effects of the boundary condition, meniscus, and the geometry of the setup separately on the energies and obtain scaling results for the wavenumber of the multi-mode pattern due to each effect. Lastly, a wrinkle-to-fold transition is discussed in the Lame setup, with our …


Tunneling Assisted Forbidden Transitions In The Single Molecule Magnet Ni4, Yiming Chen Mar 2017

Tunneling Assisted Forbidden Transitions In The Single Molecule Magnet Ni4, Yiming Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents work in exploring novel quantum phenomena in singlemolecule magnets (SMMs) and superconducting circuits. The degree of the freedom studied is the magnetic moment of a single molecule and the flux quantum trapped in a superconducting ring. These phenomena provide us with new insights into some basic questions of physics and may also find their application in quantum computing. The molecule we studied is Ni4 ([Ni4(hmp)(dmp)Cl]4) which can be treated as a spin-4 magnet. The large magnetic anisotropy of the molecule leads to bistability of the magnetic moment at low temperatures, with spin-up and spin-down states separated by …


Gapless Symmetry-Protected Topological Order, Thomas Scaffidi, Daniel E. Parker, Romain Vasseur Jan 2017

Gapless Symmetry-Protected Topological Order, Thomas Scaffidi, Daniel E. Parker, Romain Vasseur

Physics Department Faculty Publication Series

We introduce exactly solvable gapless quantum systems in d dimensions that support symmetry-protected topological (SPT) edge modes. Our construction leads to long-range entangled, critical points or phases that can be interpreted as critical condensates of domain walls “decorated” with dimension (d−1) SPT systems. Using a combination of field theory and exact lattice results, we argue that such gapless SPT systems have symmetry-protected topological edge modes that can be either gapless or symmetry broken, leading to unusual surface critical properties. Despite the absence of a bulk gap, these edge modes are robust against arbitrary symmetry-preserving local perturbations near the …