Detection and characterization of structural changes in the hard-disk fluid under freezing and melting conditions

The fluid of two-dimensional hard disks is investigated over a range of densities by Monte Carlo simulations in order to detect and characterize structural changes which take place when the condition of freezing and melting is approached. A novel method is proposed based on the use of the Voronoi tessellation and a certain shape factor which turns out to be a clear indicator of the presence of different underlying substructures (domains). Close to the freezing condition the probability distribution of the shape factor develops a second distinct maximum corresponding to a predominant presence of near-regular hexagons, whereas the original peak, having its origin primarily in pentagons and distorted hexagons, diminishes and disappears at melting density.     

A model of solidification under microgravity conditions

The influence of the microgravity environment on solidification processes is discussed. A simple model of the solidification of a binary-alloy is presented with the chemical diffusion influenced by the gravitational field. Using the results of Mullins and Sekerka, we employ the linear theory of hydrodynamic stability to investigate the interfacial instability driving the pattern-forming processes in solidification. As a result, we estimate the characteristic size of the elements of the emerging pattern. We show that, in spite of good agreement of our result with the size of cellulae observed in experiments, the model cannot explain the changes in the patterns occurring in space environment. In conclusion we shortly discuss the possibility of adding realism to our simple model by including the effect of convection.     

Forbidden Gap Argument for Phase Transitions Proved by Means of Chessboard Estimates

Chessboard estimates are one of the standard tools for proving phase coexistence in spin systems of physical interest. In this note we show that the method not only produces a point in the phase diagram where more than one Gibbs states coexist, but that it can also be used to rule out the existence of shift-ergodic states that differ significantly from those proved to exist. For models depending on a parameter (say, the temperature), this shows that the values of the conjugate thermodynamic quantity (the energy) inside the ``transitional gap'' are forbidden in all shift-ergodic Gibbs states. We point out several models where our result provides useful additional information concerning the set of possible thermodynamic equilibria.     

Role of dispersed phase in the creep of ferritic steels

The effect of carbide particles of M4C₃ and M₂₃C₆ on the creep properties of low-alloy and modified chromium steels is investigated.Presented at the 4th International Symposium on Plasticity of Metals and Alloys, Srní, Czechoslovakia, September 7–11, 1987.     

Dynamics of intense Langmuir waves in current-carrying plasmas

Basic equations including ponderomotive effects of Langmuir waves in a current-carrying plasma are presented. In such a system, dynamics of an initially monochromatic plasma wave is investigated both analytically and numerically. Various regimes of developed modified decay and modulational instabilities of the wave are modelled by using a macroparticle numerical code. In this way the cooperative nature of both ponderomotive and drift effects supporting plasma heating is demonstrated. The underlying physical processes are discussed and relation to the solar flare theory is suggested.Dedicated to Academician Václav Votruba on the occasion of his eightieth birthday.It is pleasure to acknowledge the staff members of the Computational Centre at Ondejov for their kind support in performing the numerical computations.     

On the Validity of Entropy Production Principles for Linear Electrical Circuits

We explain the (non-)validity of close-to-equilibrium entropy production principles in the context of linear electrical circuits. Both the minimum and the maximum entropy production principles are understood within dynamical fluctuation theory. The starting point are Langevin equations obtained by combining Kirchoff’s laws with a Johnson-Nyquist noise at each dissipative element in the circuit. The main observation is that the fluctuation functional for time averages, that can be read off from the path-space action, is in first order around equilibrium given by an entropy production rate. That allows to understand beyond the schemes of irreversible thermodynamics (1) the validity of the least dissipation, the minimum entropy production, and the maximum entropy production principles close to equilibrium; (2) the role of the observables’ parity under time-reversal and, in particular, the origin of Landauer’s counterexample (1975) from the fact that the fluctuating observable there is odd under time-reversal; (3) the critical remark of Jaynes (1980) concerning the apparent inappropriateness of entropy production principles in temperature-inhomogeneous circuits.     

Monitoring membrane rafts in colorectal cancer cells by means of correlative fluorescence electron microscopy (CFEM)

Detergent-resistant membrane (DRM) rafts have been shown to play a pivotal role in regulating key cell biological processes, such as signal transduction, cellular transport and cell survival. The fine structure of membrane rafts are studied using various different imaging approaches and the outcomes are largely dependent on the detection methodology applied. All these microscopy techniques which employ light-, laser- and photon-optics, electrons as well as atomic force probing are characterized on their turn by their strengths and limitations for membrane raft identification. This explains in part the diversity of definitions available to describe these peculiar membrane structures. We present herewith an alternative and uncomplicated microscopy tool to study fluorescently labelled DRMs with information at the transmission electron microscopical level of the same cell, enabling us to obtain a snapshot of the morpho-functional relationships between the cell's interior and DRMs. The proposed approach of correlative fluorescence electron microscopy (CFEM) can therefore be considered as an additional alternative imaging approach to unravel DRM structure–function relationships from micro- to nanometre length scales, from the cell to the molecule.