Browsing Physics by Title
Now showing items 1-20 of 26
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Applying theoretical frameworks from cognitive psychology to assess faculty professional development and student reasoning in physics
(North Dakota State University, 2024)Understanding human behavior and reasoning is essential for developing successful instruction. Discipline-based education researchers have examined how students learn, informing the development of successful instructional ... -
Biophysical Characterization of Living Cells and Membrane Receptors by Atomic Force Spectroscopy
(North Dakota State University, 2021)Cellular biomechanics and cellular communication via receptor-ligand interactions play an important role in controlling cell development and maintaining cellular functions. Atomic force spectroscopy (AFM) technique has ... -
Buckling Instabilities of Nanoscale Polymer Films and Colloidal Particle Layers
(North Dakota State University, 2015)Nanoscale polymer films have numerous potential applications such as protective coatings, flexible electronics, energy harvesting devices, and drug delivery systems. For realization of these potential applications, the ... -
Computational Modeling of Polymer Crowding: Influence of Solvent Quality and Dimensionality on Conformations
(North Dakota State University, 2018)The structure and function of polymers in confined environments, e.g., biopolymers in the cytoplasm, are affected by macromolecular crowding. To explore the influence of solvent quality and dimensionality on conformations ... -
A Density Functional Theory and Many Body Perturbation Theory Based Study of Photo-Excited Charge Separation in Doped Silicon Nanowires with Gold Leads: Toy Models for the Photovoltaic Effect
(North Dakota State University, 2020)We analyze a toy model for p-n junction photovoltaic devices by simulating photoexcited state dynamics in silicon nanowires. One nanowire is approximately circular in cross section with a diameter of d = 1.17 nm. The other ... -
Electrostatic Interactions at Dielectric Interfaces: From Colloids to Membranes
(North Dakota State University, 2017)In this thesis we have investigated electrostatic interactions at dielectric interfaces using theoretical models based on the non-linear Poisson-Boltzmann theory and its extensions. We have focused on three major topics: ... -
Excited State Dynamics in 1D Thermoelectric Materials
(North Dakota State University, 2020)Here, nonadiabatic computations are used to study the thermoelectric effect and evaluate electron relaxation rates in lead telluride nanowires. κ_e = 1/τ_el is defined as the electron relaxation rate. It is directly ... -
Fluctuations in the Lattice Boltzmann Method
(North Dakota State University, 2012)The implementation of fluctuations in the lattice Boltzmann method has made significant progress in the last 10 years. The significance of incorporating noise to all non-conserved degrees of freedom was a significant recent ... -
Free Energy Minimization and Multicomponent, Multi-Phase Lattice Boltzmann Simulations of Van Der Waals Fluid Mixtures
(North Dakota State University, 2018)In this thesis, we develop a general framework for the lattice Boltzmann method to simulate multiphase systems with an arbitrary number of components. Theoretical expectations are easily visualized for binary mixtures, so ... -
Fundamental Studies of Interfacial Forces Acting on Thin Films
(North Dakota State University, 2021)A thin film is a material that is many orders of magnitude thinner than it is long or wide. They are commonly found in many forms and have been adapted to a wide variety of uses. The art of origami uses thin films(sheets ... -
Guiding Self-Assembly of Functionalized Nanoparticles by Computational Modeling of Effective Interactions
(North Dakota State University, 2018)Nanoparticles have attracted much attention because of their unusual physical properties, which allow them to be used in many practical applications. The self-assembly of nanocrystals into crystalline arrays can be facilitated ... -
Hot Electron Effect in Ultrathin Photovoltaic Junctions
(North Dakota State University, 2012)The focus of the research work described in the following thesis is increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic devices by reducing hot carrier thermalization losses. In principle this can be achieved by reducing the size ... -
Inspection of Excited State Properties in Defected Carbon Nanotubes from Multiple Exciton Generation to Defect-Defect Interactions
(North Dakota State University, 2020)Covalent SP3-hybridization defects in single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been prevalent in recent experimental and theoretical studies for their interesting photophysical properties. These systems are able to act ... -
Investigation of 2D polymer thin films in 3D structures involving Crumpling, Origami, Kirigami and Adhesion
(North Dakota State University, 2024)This dissertation delves into the fascinating world of thin films and their ability to transform into three-dimensional (3D) structures. One can simply crush a sheet of paper into a ball to make a 3D object a faster, yet ... -
Lattice Gas and Lattice Boltzmann Methods for Fluctuating Systems, Barrier Coatings, and Overrelaxation
(North Dakota State University, 2022)In the field of computational fluid dynamics, lattice gas and lattice Boltzmann methods are powerful simulation methods derived from kinetic theory. These methods are renowned for their simplicity of implementation and ... -
Multi-Scale Simulation Methods of Crosslinked Polymer Networks and Degradation
(North Dakota State University, 2018)Crosslinked thermoset polymers are used heavily in industrial and consumer products, as well as in infrastructure. When used as a protective coating, a thermoset's net-like structure can act as a barrier to protect an ... -
The Nature of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube-Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells
(North Dakota State University, 2015)Since their inception in 2007, nanotube-silicon heterojunction solar cells have experienced rapid improvement due to the diligent work of several research groups. These devices have quickly reached a point where they might ... -
A Novel Macroscopic Technique to Measure the Nanomechanics of Durable Multifunctional Nanosheets
(North Dakota State University, 2017)In the recent advancement of nanotechnology, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown promise and potential for a wide variety of applications due to their excellent mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. A network of ... -
A Numerical and Analytical Analysis of the Physics of Phase-Separation Fronts
(North Dakota State University, 2012)My dissertation is an investigation into the basic Physics of phase separation fronts. Such phase-separation fronts occur in many practical applications, like the formation of immersion precipitation membranes, Temperature ... -
Osmotic Swelling Behavior of Ionic Microgels
(North Dakota State University, 2020)This dissertation studies the thermodynamic and structural properties of aqueous dispersions of ionic microgels – soft colloidal particles composed of cross-linked polymer gels that swell in a good solvent. Starting from ...