Beads-on-a-string packing in two dimensions

Basic statistical properties of monolayer packing configurations of a string of beads of diameter D in a planar cavity of size L×L×D are extensively investigated from experiments. The observed packing density p of the beads within the cavity is examined as a function of the packing fraction δ along the string. In particular, we have examined the dependence of p(δ) with the ratio D/L. The relationship of the maximum packing density, pmax, with D/L is found, and the thermodynamic limit of pmax as D/L goes to zero is also obtained.