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Tag Archives: Soft matter
Binary Colloids Don’t Flock Together
A homogenous mixture of two self-propelling species first forms a polar vortex and then spontaneously demixes, thanks to a difference in speeds and other competing effects. Continue reading
Far-Field Flow Forces Attraction
The flow field generated by swimming bacteria drives a long-range attractive force felt by passive objects much larger than the swimmers themselves. Continue reading
Self-Repelling Species Still Self-Organize
Catalytically active particles form clusters when they respond not only to their own chemical targets but to those of other catalysts, too. Continue reading
Scientists Theorize a Hidden Phase Transition Between Liquid and a Solid
Improved understanding of glassy dynamics could help scientists explain why a liquid behaves like a solid, and develop useful new materials. Continue reading
Disordered Systems Mimic Genetic Evolution
A bacterial genome’s evolution under changing drug concentrations displays effects of memory formation and mimics how disordered solids respond to external forces. Continue reading
Glassy Behavior Depends on Dimension
The number of excess vibrational modes in glasses scales differently in two dimensions than it does in three. Continue reading
Simple Additives Make Polar Fluids More Polar
The strong polar nature of bonded molecular pairs called zwitterions boosts the dielectric constants of polar fluids. Continue reading
Analyzing the Sharkskin Instability
The stretching and recoiling of polymer chains leads to the characteristic ridge pattern as a soft material exits a narrow nozzle. Continue reading
Shape-Shifting Proteins Follow Diffusion Rules
How quickly a protein diffuses in a liquid depends directly on its radius, which changes as the protein’s conformation fluctuates. Continue reading
At-Home Experiment Exposes Gel Cracks
Kept out of the lab by COVID-19, an undergraduate student has performed experiments in his living room, revealing a mechanism for fracture elongation in soft materials. Continue reading
Rachel Berkowitz 