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An Analytical Solution for Horizontal Infiltration in Highly Selected Porous Media: Anchoring in Sorptivity and Van Genuchten-Mualem Parameter

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This is an updated version of a previously posted article that had been published on June 17, 2025 on this blog. Celso Luiz Prevedello Abstract This work proposes an analytical model specifically for highly selected porous media (n>10), using a continuous sigmoidal moisture profile to describe the transition zone during horizontal infiltration. The parameter n represents an adjustment factor of the van Genuchten (1980) model for the soil water retention curve, and is related to the uniformity of pore distribution. The parameter n>10 of van Genuchten suggests a very uniform pore distribution. The specialization for n>10 addresses the growing demand of modern engineering for synthetic and designed materials with very uniform pore distribution, widely used in industrial filtration, draining pavement, technical substrates and advanced geotechnical systems. The model was developed specifically for materials with characteristics similar to very well selected sands, such as the porou...
  From Bilateral Symmetry to Neural Decussation: A Unified Approach via Energy Minimization and Schrödinger-Inspired Principles Celso Luiz Prevedello Introduction: From the Symmetry of Form to the Wiring of the Brain Following the discussion on the emergence of bilateral symmetry from energy minimization principles inspired by the Schrödinger equation (as detailed in a previous post on this Blog), an insightful comment from my son, Daniel Prevedello, a neurosurgeon, raised the question of the crossed organization of the central nervous system – decussation. Could this apparently distinct phenomenon also be understood through a similar lens of stability and functional optimization in an inherently symmetric system? Stimulated by this question, I developed the following argument that extends the previous logic, which grounds the bilateral symmetry of body form, to neural connectivity and the origin of decussation. This essay proposes a unified view, where both...
  Bilateral Symmetry as an Analytical Consequence of Energy Minimization in Symmetric Potentials: An Approach Inspired by the Schrödinger Equation Celso Luiz Prevedello When I studied the Schrödinger equation with some depth (see my last two posts on this Blog), I encountered revealed wonders. Fascinated by this, I turned to his book "What is Life?". After all, why would a physicist be interested in trying to answer the mysteries of life? Many of his answers were intrinsically linked to his theory. That said, I remembered a provocative question I once asked my nephew: "Why, in living organisms, is there bilateral symmetry, a mirror symmetry?". From fish to butterflies, from leaves to human faces, bilateral symmetry seems omnipresent. It cannot be a coincidence. This recurring pattern deserves to be treated as a consequence of something deeper. Anyone who has read Schrödinger's book easily notices that his concept of the aperiodic solid pred...
  The Importance of Quantum Mechanics and the Schrödinger Equation: Unveiling the Atom CELSO LUIZ PREVEDELLO The book "Princeton Guide to Advanced Physics" by Alan C. Tribble covers a wide range of advanced physics topics, from classical mechanics to statistical physics and relativity. Among these topics, Quantum Mechanics stands out for challenging our intuition about the behavior of the microscopic world. In this text, we will address this fundamental theory in an accessible manner, without sacrificing mathematical rigor, highlighting the Schrödinger equation as one of its pillars and exploring its applications, especially in the model of the hydrogen atom. This text is a tribute to Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger (Vienna-Erdberg, August 12, 1887 – Vienna, January 4, 1961). What is Quantum Mechanics? Quantum Mechanics is the physical theory that describes the behavior of matter and energy at microscopic scales, where the laws of classical ...