https://phys.org/physics-news/soft-matter en-us The latest news on soft matter, soft condensed matter, liquids, colloids, polymers, foams, gels, granular materials The amount of power a microswimmer needs to move can now be determined more easily. Scientists from the department Living Matter Physics at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) developed a general theorem to calculate the minimal energy required for propulsion. These insights allow a profound understanding for practical applications, such as targeted transport of molecules and substrates. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-theorem-fuel-economy-microswimmer.html General Physics Soft Matter Thu, 12 Oct 2023 09:43:02 EDT news616322581 A team of physicists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has found that when ants of a certain species collectively carry a large object, they do so in a way that mimics a self-propelled particle as it moves through a fluid. In their paper published in the open-access journal PRX Life, the group describes their study of the behavior of Paratrechina longicornis, a species of ant that are known for collectively carrying large food items to their nests. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-ants-large-mimics-self-propelled-particle.html General Physics Soft Matter Tue, 10 Oct 2023 09:26:32 EDT news616148789 A new model demonstrates that chasing interactions can induce dynamical patterns in the organization of bacterial species. Structural patterns can be created due to the chasing interactions between two bacterial species. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-interactions-bacteria-insights-behavior.html General Physics Soft Matter Fri, 06 Oct 2023 10:11:44 EDT news615805900 Identifying the underlying cause of extreme events such as floods, heavy downpours or tornados is immensely difficult and can take a concerted effort by scientists over several decades to arrive at feasible physical explanations. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-employs-deep-extreme-events.html General Physics Soft Matter Mon, 02 Oct 2023 14:53:09 EDT news615477181 An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Hamburg and ETH Zurich has now demonstrated that it is possible to probe electron dynamics in liquids using intense laser fields and to retrieve the electron mean free path—the average distance an electron can travel before colliding with another particle. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-intense-lasers-electron-dynamics-liquids.html Optics & Photonics Soft Matter Thu, 28 Sep 2023 13:04:14 EDT news615125051 Whether you are familiar with the term "Magnus effect" or not, you have certainly seen it in action. It is when a spinning ball—for instance in football, cricket or baseball—bends away from its expected trajectory, often to the surprise of the opposing team. The principle also has engineering uses, for example to propel certain types of ships or aircraft using a "Flettner rotor." https://phys.org/news/2023-09-memory-induced-magnus-effect-unexpected-curveball.html General Physics Soft Matter Tue, 26 Sep 2023 12:58:54 EDT news614951931 Negative pressure is a rare and challenging-to-detect phenomenon in physics. Using liquid-filled optical fibers and sound waves, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) in Erlangen have now discovered a new method to measure it. In collaboration with the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technologies in Jena (IPHT), the scientists in the Quantum Optoacoustics research group, led by Birgit Stiller, can gain important insights into thermodynamic states. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-reveal-negative-pressure.html Optics & Photonics Soft Matter Mon, 25 Sep 2023 13:27:39 EDT news614867255 Glass, despite its apparent transparency and rigidity, is a complex and intriguing material. When a liquid is cooled to form a glass, its dynamics slows down significantly, resulting in its unique properties. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-unraveling-mysteries-glassy-liquids.html Soft Matter Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:10:34 EDT news614599832 Engineering researchers at Lehigh University have discovered that sand can actually flow uphill. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-sand-uphill.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:00:52 EDT news614444448 In a study published in Science Advances, Chinese researchers have demonstrated the dynamics of liquid entrainment on solid surfaces with millimeter structures. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-millimeter-liquid-entrainment.html Soft Matter Fri, 15 Sep 2023 09:39:18 EDT news613989555 Quantum spin liquids are difficult to explain and even harder to understand. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-disorder-quantum-liquids-phase.html Soft Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 12 Sep 2023 11:39:05 EDT news613737542 American beach town boardwalks often boast numerous storefronts advertising saltwater taffies. The candy calls to mind summer vacations, a rainbow assortment of colors and flavors, and a sweetness that sticks to the roof of your mouth. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-sweet-physics-saltwater-taffy.html Soft Matter Tue, 12 Sep 2023 11:00:01 EDT news613727544 Freeze casting processes can be used to produce highly porous and hierarchically structured materials that have a large surface area. They are suitable for a wide variety of applications, as electrodes for batteries, catalyst materials or in biomedicine. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-formation-3d-real.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Wed, 06 Sep 2023 13:30:11 EDT news613225803 A study conducted at the Center for Research, Education and Innovation in Vitreous Materials (CeRTEV) in São Carlos, São Paulo state, Brazil, shows for the first time that including niobium oxide (Nb2O5) in silicate glass results in silica network polymerization, which increases bond density and connectivity, enhancing the mechanical and thermal stability of specialty glass. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-role-oxide-specialty-glass.html General Physics Soft Matter Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:30:03 EDT news613222201 Writing is an age-old cultural technique. Thousands of years ago, humans were already carving signs and symbols into stone slabs. Scripts have become far more sophisticated since then but one aspect remains the same: Whether the writer is using cuneiform or a modern alphabet, a solid substrate, such as clay or paper, is required to fix the written structures in place. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-ion-exchange-bead-pen.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Wed, 30 Aug 2023 12:51:04 EDT news612618661 Does hot water freeze faster than cold water? Aristotle may have been the first to tackle this question that later became known as the Mpemba effect. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-hot-faster-cold-mpemba-effect.html Soft Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 29 Aug 2023 12:57:05 EDT news612532620 Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have made a discovery that could change our understanding of the universe. In their study published in Science Advances, they reveal, for the first time, that there is a range in which fundamental constants can vary, allowing for the viscosity needed for life processes to occur within and between living cells. This is an important piece of the puzzle in determining where these constants come from and how they impact life as we know it. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-cup-secrets-universe.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Wed, 23 Aug 2023 14:00:01 EDT news612002050 In the intricate realm of wave turbulence, where predictability falters and chaos reigns, new research explores the heart of wave turbulence using an ultracold quantum gas. The study reveals new insights that could advance our understanding of non-equilibrium physics and have significant implications for various fields. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-chaos-ultracold-quantum-gas-reveals.html Soft Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 17 Aug 2023 12:09:04 EDT news611492942 Clouds are a lot cooler than you might think. In fact, scientists might say they're super cool because they're made up of millions of supercooled water droplets, droplets that have been cooled below the freezing point but haven't yet turned into ice. When these droplets freeze, they can accelerate freezing of the whole cloud through a process called secondary ice production. This is a rapid, complex process that happens across different time and length scales. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-mysteries-supercooled-droplets.html General Physics Soft Matter Wed, 16 Aug 2023 17:35:04 EDT news611426102 The behavior of drops on surfaces is of interest for a variety of applications. However, properties such as velocity, friction or shape on inclined surfaces depend on a large number of parameters—their behavior is still not completely predictable by theories. Researchers led by Hans-Jürgen Butt of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now tackled this problem and developed a simple phenomenological model that allows them to accurately predict the path of a drop. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-inclined-description.html General Physics Soft Matter Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:49:03 EDT news611408941 Anything made out of plastic or glass is known as an amorphous material. Unlike many materials that freeze into crystalline solids, the atoms and molecules in amorphous materials never stack together to form crystals when cooled. In fact, although we commonly think of plastic and glass as "solids," they instead remain in a state that is more accurately described as a supercooled liquid that flows extremely slowly. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-theorize-hidden-phase-transition.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Tue, 15 Aug 2023 11:38:26 EDT news611318298 Most people who hear the word 'glasses' will probably think of drinking glasses or corrective eyewear. Hardly anyone will think of metals. But metallic glasses, or 'amorphous metals' as they are also known, are playing an increasingly important role in both scientific research and technology. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-tiny-metal-droplets-longer-solidify.html General Physics Soft Matter Mon, 14 Aug 2023 12:18:00 EDT news611234272 Scientists have conducted a study of the interface between two liquids, focusing on a force called interfacial tension. Their numerical simulation helped them better understand the mechanism at work in interfacial tension. This work contributes to the understanding of interfacial fluid dynamics. It offers potential applications in a variety of fields ranging from oil recovery to medical use. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-fluid-dynamics-explore-mechanism.html General Physics Soft Matter Thu, 10 Aug 2023 11:41:08 EDT news610886464 In an experiment on how turbulent boundary layers respond to acceleration in the flow around them, aerospace engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign observed an unexpected internal boundary layer. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-sudden-generation-boundary-layer.html Soft Matter Thu, 03 Aug 2023 09:45:32 EDT news610274726 As science races toward automation and quick experiments, it is sometimes required to concurrently handle small amounts of liquids (droplets), from picoliters to microliters. Moreover, droplet jumping is required when transporting droplets to distantly positioned devices or containers. However, the digital microfluidic technology, which manipulates droplets on a surface, is constrained to a maximum height of approximately 5 mm. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-ultrasound-based-microfluidic-platform-airborne-droplets.html Soft Matter Thu, 03 Aug 2023 06:42:35 EDT news610263751 Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have uncovered the physics behind how foams spread on surfaces. The scientists placed balls of foam on a flat substrate and then scraped across it with a plate. They identified different patterns that strongly depended on the scraping speed, which was governed by competing physical phenomena. Their findings can be applied to all types of soft materials that need to be spread evenly on surfaces, from mayonnaise on bread to insulation on walls. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-scientists-uncover-foams-surfaces.html Soft Matter Mon, 31 Jul 2023 12:21:03 EDT news610024862 Researchers at the University of Twente have developed a theoretical method for designing fluidic networks that has direct applications for scientists and engineers. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-minimal-energy-loss-smart-fluidic.html General Physics Soft Matter Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:54:03 EDT news609152041 A team of physicists at Université Paris-Saclay has, for the first time, observed spontaneous quasi-crystal self-assembly. The observation occurred during an experiment they were conducting with tiny vibrating magnetic spheres. The team has written a paper describing their experiment and have posted it on the arXiv preprint server while they await peer review. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-spontaneous-quasi-crystal-self-assembly-tiny-vibrating.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Wed, 19 Jul 2023 12:10:01 EDT news608986975 Molecules immersed in liquid helium can probe superfluidity since their electronic, vibrational and rotational dynamics can provide valuable cues about the superfluid at the nanoscale. In a new report in Science Advances, Alexander Milner and a team of scientists in physics and astronomy, and chemistry at the University of British Columbia, Canada and the University of California, Irvine, U.S., described an experimental study of laser-induced rotation of helium dimers inside a superfluid helium bath at various temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-dynamics-molecular-rotors-bulk-superfluid.html Soft Matter Wed, 19 Jul 2023 10:40:01 EDT news608981504 Self-sustained levitation of millimeter-sized droplets was recently discovered by researchers at Tyumen State University, in Russia, during an experiment to select combinations of immiscible liquids, which don't form homogeneous mixtures. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-droplet-levitation-explore-airborne-viruses.html Soft Matter Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:00:02 EDT news608893904