Dresden 2006 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help

AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 40: Poster Session II

AKB 40.52: Poster

Wednesday, March 29, 2006, 16:30–19:30, P3

Motion by Stopping: Brownian motors without asymmetric potential — •Susan Sporer, Christian Goll, and Klaus Mecke — Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

The Brownian motion of a particle in a liquid can be biased without thermal gradients or macroscopic force fields, if the shape of the particle is asymmetric and relaxation in equilibrium is prohibited by external force. In contrast to previous work the external potential does not need to be asymmetric, it is sufficient to arrest the particle at periodic intervals. We analysed by molecular dynamics simulations the dependence of the drift velocity on the particle shape and the fluid density. In the limit of a dilute gas an exact analytic calculation of the shape dependence is possible.