2013/04/22 by Tajkera Khatun, Khatun, Tajkera, Tapati Dutta +3
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1304.5523
10 pages, 6 figures
arxiv created 2013/04/22 · arxiv updated 2013/04/23
Crack formation patterns in laponite gel are known to be strongly affected by DC electric fields. We show that AC fields produce equally remarkable patterns in a radially symmetric set-up. The character of the pattern depends crucially on the field strength. A significant feature observed is the bending of radial cracks, with the curvature increasing as field strength is increased. Fields of 20 to 70 V have been applied and several features of the resulting patterns quantified. Striations on the fracture surfaces and crack speeds are also studied.