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SUMMARY:Spontaneous knotting of an agitated string - John Biggins\, TCM
DTSTART:20081024T143000Z
DTEND:20081024T150000Z
UID:TALK14684@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Daniel Cole
DESCRIPTION:"Spontaneous knotting of an agitated string":http://www.pnas.o
 rg/content/104/42/16432.abstract\, D. M. Raymer and D. E. Smith\, PNAS\, 2
 007\n\nIt is a fact familiar from every day life that jostled strings tend
  to form knots. This paper probes this phenomena experimentally by tumblin
 g strings of various lengths and studying the statistics of the knots that
  form. 120 different types on knot\, identified by their Jones polynomials
 \, were observed in over 3000 trials. Remarkably nearly all these knots we
 re prime. A simple model of the knotting process is also presented that qu
 alitatively agrees with the observed distribution of knots and the knottin
 g probability as a function of agitation time and the string length.\n\nRa
 ther unfairly\, the authors were awarded this years ignoble prize in physi
 cs for this work.
LOCATION:TCM Seminar Room\, Cavendish Laboratory
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