Associate professor Farbod Alijani and PhD student Ata Keşkekler have provided supporting evidence for the existence of a nonlinear dissipation mechanism in mechanical systems. As a result of this mechanism, the loss of energy in mechanical vibrations is greater as the amplitude of the vibration increases. Dissipation is the loss of ‘useful’ energy during thermodynamic processes, such as friction. To prove its nonlinear nature, the researchers used graphene nanodrums of only a few nanometres thick. This week, Nature Communications published the results.
As there have been few possibilities to influence the damping force in nanosystems until now, this research paves the way to exciting possibilities to better understand the origin of dissipation at the nanoscale and realise ultrasensitive controllable sensors. For this study, with funding from European Research Council (ERC), the researchers worked with colleagues from Ben Gurion University and the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at TU Delft.
Source: “Researchers clarify the microscopic origin of dissipation with graphene”, Delft University of Technology
