Experimental Realization of a Rotational Ratchet in a Granular Gas

Eshuis, Peter and Weele van der, Ko and Lohse, Detlef and Meer van der, Devaraj (2010) Experimental Realization of a Rotational Ratchet in a Granular Gas. Physical Review Letters, 104 (24). p. 248001. ISSN 0031-9007

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Abstract:	We construct a ratchet of the Smoluchowski-Feynman type, consisting of four vanes that are allowed to rotate freely in a vibrofluidized granular gas. The necessary out-of-equilibrium environment is provided by the inelastically colliding grains, and the equally crucial symmetry breaking by applying a soft coating to one side of each vane. The onset of the ratchet effect occurs at a critical shaking strength via a smooth, continuous phase transition. For very strong shaking the vanes interact actively with the gas and a convection roll develops, sustaining the rotation of the vanes
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© American Physical Society
Faculty:	Science and Technology (TNW)
Research Group:	Physics of Fluids (POF)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/79181
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.248001
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