November 23, 2015
With liquid everywhere around us, it’s surprising to learn how little is really understood about the fundamental properties of liquids, like viscosity, at the atomic level. For a group of researchers working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source, using neutrons to study the atomic dynamics of liquid metals is key to unlocking the mystery of the atomistic origin of viscosity.
“The physics of solids have been fully developed for crystals,” said Takeshi Egami, the Principal Investigator for this experiment from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. “But liquids don’t have the advantage of atomic order, or periodicity, so we have to get creative to study their atomic structure and dynamics.”
One problem with studying liquids, he explains, is that the container often gets in the way of the measurements. The team is using a specially developed device, the Neutron Electrostatic Levitator, to levitate or float the metal sample while hitting it with a laser to melt it into a liquid.
Read more at neutrons.ornl.gov.