Researcher: Prof. Nasr Ghoniem

Description

Equilibrium of materials is a result of a delicate balance between the rate of external stimulus, such as mechanical load rate, heat flux, mass flux, radiation flux, and the internal restoring forces within the material. If the stimulus rate is so much faster than the response rate, a disordered state emerges. On the other hand, if the stimulus rate is too slow compared to the materials response rate, a condition of uniform equilibrium state is achieved. In between these two extremes, dissipative structures form and result in self-organization, defected self-organization, or in self-organized defect ensembles. Understanding the physics of materials far from equilibrium enables scientists and engineers to develop “meta-materials,” that do not naturally exist, and that have unique and unusual properties.