DocM Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Quasi-Particle: phenomena that occur when a microscopically-complicated system (such as a solid or gas) behaves as if it contained weakly-interacting particles, but no such particles are actually present. Examples are the phonon (an acoustic oscillation), plasmon (an oscillation in plasma), the charge holes in semiconductors etc. http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/46313 Introducing the 'wrinklon'A new quasiparticle called the "wrinklon" could help explain why materials as diverse as graphene and household curtains wrinkle in much the same way ? despite their very different length scales. The particle has been introduced by researchers in Belgium, France and the US as a result of measurements on a wide range of materials on length scales from micrometres to metres. While the work may not lead to more attractive curtains, wrinkles do turn out to affect the electronic properties of graphene and the analysis could therefore influence the development of graphene-based devices. Wrinkles can appear whenever a sheet of material is fixed along one or more edges. In the case of a fabric curtain, the wrinkles are close together at the top and the space between wrinkles increases continuously further down the curtain. The emergence of wrinklons ? by Pascal Damman and colleagues at the universities of Mons, Paris and California Riverside, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ? reflects this change and defines the patterns of wrinkles seen in such materials. Self-similar patterns Physicists have enjoyed great success in describing complex systems in terms of quasiparticles ? collective excitations that behave much like discrete particles. This latest wrinklon quasiparticle describes a localized region with a high degree of stretching where two wrinkles merge into one (see figure). Indeed, if you happen to be sitting next to a curtain, then you can probably see a few wrinklons, which may appear depending on the tension in the material and its physical properties such as thickness and elasticity. > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 there's a wrinkle particle now? does that apply to age-related wrinkles, too?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Your skin is a sheet-like material, so it's likely the wrinklon could be used to describe them. Quasi-particles aren't like real particles though - they are used to describe the group interactions of real particles and weak forces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 ok, so it's more of a concept than an actual particle or component of physics...thanks for pointing that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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