Tag Archives: Soft matter

Glowing Algae Change Morphology to Avoid Light

Bright light triggers the chloroplast of a bioluminescent algae to fold into a pattern that minimizes the chloroplast’s exposed area. Continue reading →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Why Humidity Doesn’t Affect Drying Paint

Experiments verify a theory that explains why paint doesn’t dry any faster on a dry day than on a wet day. Continue reading →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Tension Remodeling Resolves Tissue Architecture Question

A dynamical tension model captures how cells swap places with their neighbors in epithelial tissues, explaining observed phase transitions and cellular architectures. Continue reading →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in APS Physics | Tagged , | Leave a comment