Exploring transitions to chaos in complex systems

Alberto Robledo shows how mathematical laws can explain different types of complex systems.

Previously, Dr Alberto Robledo of Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) showed how transitions to chaos in nonlinear systems can be expressed in the language of statistical mechanics. Additionally, in his studies he shows how the same mathematical laws can link these transitions to the behaviours of different types of complex systems. His results may lead to […]

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Obtaining Tsallis entropy at the onset of chaos

Statistical mechanics aims to understand how thermodynamic systems with large numbers of particles evolve over time.

Tsallis entropy aims to extend traditional statistical mechanics, but some physicists believe the theory is incompatible with the fundamental principles of thermodynamics. Dr Alberto Robledo of Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) shows for the first time how Tsallis entropy can explain natural phenomena that turn out to be surprisingly linked to the transitions from regular to […]

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Your favourite articles of the year: #BehindTheResearch2022

Welcome to #BehindTheResearch2022! We’re showcasing researchers whose articles have made a significant impact in a curation of Research Outreach’s top-trending articles of the year! Read on to find out which researchers are in the top five most-read articles of 2022. In the year-in-review blog, we find out how Timothy Arnett has developed a fuzzy logic-based artificial intelligence and machine learning […]

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How geometry expresses the Second Law of Thermodynamics

A new thermodynamics approach based on a groundbreaking geometrical understanding of entropy.

Physicists have long struggled to explain how the inevitable increase in the universe’s entropy can be reconciled with the reversible laws of quantum mechanics. Now, Professor Chris Jeynes at the University of Surrey Ion Beam Centre, UK, believes he has found a solution in geometry. This new geometrical thermodynamics shows how the stability in time of structures as diverse as […]

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High entropy to power a high energy world

A home energy storage system based on a lithium ion battery pack.

Scientists are continuously searching for new materials whose properties may solve the toughest challenges of our heavily technological society. To tackle the need for longer-lasting energy storage, for example, Dr Ben Breitung, Dr Torsten Brezesinski and their teams at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are developing high-entropy materials by diversifying the composition of crystal structures. The properties of these […]

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A biochemical device to demystify a century-old thermodynamics puzzle from theoretical physics

Maxwell’s demon and Szilard’s engine – thought experiments from the 19th and early 20th centuries – have long captured the imagination of theoretical physicists. Many still disagree about the interpretation of these ideas, the implications for the second law of thermodynamics and the consequences for thermodynamics of computation. Along with collaborators, Dr Thomas Ouldridge at Imperial College London has designed […]

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