The rain stick, a simple model for the dynamics of particles passing obstacles in a gravitational field

Ira Wolfson, Netta R. Schramm, Yoav Y. Biton and Yuval Ben-Abu

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2019, vol. 528, issue C

Abstract: The problem of a light particle travelling through a field of obstacles or very massive particles in equilibrium pervades multiple fields in modern physics. We analyse such a problem by considering a toy rain-stick model, the mechanical analogue of the Drude model, for the motion of non-interacting electrons through a medium. We study the differences and similarities between a rain-stick model and the Drude model. Interestingly, we find that, when the only potential is gravitational, the system behaves very differently. Rather than finding a mechanical analogue to Ohm’s law, a different law is recovered. We further analyse the multi-particle case, and find the conditions under which the linear Ohm’s law might be restored. This might yield important tools to physicists’ arsenal, namely, the ability to look at bulk behaviour without the need for the microscopic model.

Keywords: Drude model; Statistical stochastic movement; System modelling; Weak gravitational field; Drift velocity; Random walk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:528:y:2019:i:c:s0378437119308805

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2019.121473

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