Abstract
Tetrahedra may be the ultimate frustrating, disordered glass forming units. Our experiments on tetrahedral dice indicate the densest (volume fraction , compared with ), most disordered, experimental, random packing of any set of congruent convex objects to date. Analysis of MRI scans yield translational and orientational correlation functions which decay as soon as particles do not touch, much more rapidly than the diameters for sphere correlations to decay. Although there are only touching neighbors on average, face-face and edge-face contacts provide enough additional constraints, total, to roughly bring the structure to the isostatic limit for frictionless particles. Randomly jammed tetrahedra form a dense rigid highly uncorrelated material.
- Received 7 October 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.185501
©2010 American Physical Society
Viewpoint
The tetrahedral dice are cast … and pack densely
Published 3 May 2010
Magnetic resonance images of tetrahedral dice show a density of random close packing, in agreement with recent calculations.
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