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Researchers are studying the link between the champagne bubbles and the energy industry. They published a new study in which they explain that when a bottle of champagne is opened, the pressure inside gets out of the bottle and the bubble undergo a process of coarsening in which the larger bubbles grow and rise at the expense of the smaller bubbles.
This phenomenon is called Ostwald ripening and could be used in various scientific systems like metallic alloys, foams or spin systems.
This process known as the Ostwald ripening happens with turbines that generate power. The process is similar to the champagne bubbles in that it involves high-complex bubbles that rise to the surface. This process is something that remains unexplored by the scientists.
In order to better understand the process, scientists used the K computer at RIKEN to simulate how it reacts. In the simulations, the scientists used virtual molecules to which they assigned initial velocities. The scientists then watch as they continue to move through the law of motion by Newton.
Hiroshi Watanabe from the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Solid State Physics said of the experiment that in order to simulate bubbles, it’s required a very large number of molecules. He said that it needs around 10,000 molecules to create a single bubble. Thus, the scientists needed at least as many bubbles to be able to investigate millions of molecules, which is something that cannot be done using a single computer.
The experiment involved the simulation of 700 million particles and then the scientists followed the motion of these particles through a million timed steps. The team said that this could be the first simulation of looking at multi-bubble nuclei without using any artificial conditions.
The scientists said that it has been very difficult to explore and study the bubble nuclei from a molecular due to the lack of advanced technology and potent computers. Watanabe explained that, because there are petascale computers, the scientists are able to make huge simulations.
By finding out more about how champagne bubbles really behave, scientists could make important discoveries in the field of engineering, which can lead to more efficient propellers and power stations.
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