| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 797747 | Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids | 2016 | 4 Pages |
Consider a flexible macro-molecule that is immersed in water at or above room temperature. As a result of thermal motion within the water, the filament is driven to undergo random fluctuations in shape. These fluctuations are a consequence of uncoordinated motion of water molecules. If the range of filament motion is restricted by nearby surfaces, the phenomenon becomes more complex. In this study, it is presumed that the filament is restricted to lie within a plane so that the motion is two dimensional. Furthermore, the range of the planar motion of the filament is confined to the region between inflexible straight boundaries lying in the plane of motion. A result of thermal fluctuation of the filament is that, when in close proximity to a boundary, a normal pressure is induced between the filament and that confining boundary. In the present development, frictional interaction of the filament with either confining boundary is presumed to be negligible. The goal is to determine the dependence of the induced pressure on the separation distance between the confining boundaries in terms of prevailing thermal conditions and physical characteristics of the system.
