Julia Bursetn (University of Kentucky)
I investigate nucleation as an example of universal behavior observable across a wide variety of physical and chemical processes. Nucleation produces phase transitions, including but not limited to those that the renormalization group models. Across the physical, chemical, and material sciences, nucleation dynamics are used to model changes in physical phase, but also the dynamics of many chemical reactions and even the formation and propagation of cracks in engineering materials. I will argue that the role of nucleation dynamics in modeling and explaining these varied processes exemplifies the pattern of explanation characteristic of universal behaviors.
