Colloids are heterogeneous physical systems in which one phase (dispersed phase) is finely distributed within another continuous phase, with characteristic particle or domain sizes typically in the range of ~1–1000 nm. They exhibit properties dominated by interfacial phenomena, Brownian motion, and long-range interactions rather than gravitational settling. Colloidal stability is governed by a balance of van der Waals, electrostatic, steric, and depletion forces, often described by DLVO and extended theories. These systems encompass sols, gels, emulsions, foams, and aerosols, and serve as model platforms for studying phase behavior, self-assembly, rheology, and non-equilibrium dynamics in soft condensed matter physics.
Glass appears to be a solid, but in theory it sometimes behaves more like an extremely slow liquid. Physicists in Utrecht now show that glass-like structures can also exist in equilibrium, which is something many theories ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 18, 2026
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Researchers at Utrecht University have quantitatively mapped the three-dimensional structure of photonic supraparticles for the first time. Supraparticles are microscopic spheres composed of thousands of smaller colloidal ...
Nanophysics
Mar 10, 2026
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14
Materials that encourage mineralization, mimicking the process in the human body, are becoming increasingly important in medicine and technology. This process, which occurs at the interface between inorganic materials and ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 10, 2026
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6
For the first time, researchers in France and Israel have observed how an emulsified liquid droplet can transform from a hexagon into a six-pointed star shape in response to rising temperature. Publishing their results in ...
Scientists have designed nanoagents that act like smart drug-delivery capsules—carrying an antibiotic deep into bacterial infection sites and releasing it only when activated by gentle ultrasound. Delivering antibiotics locally, ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 2, 2026
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86
Leiden physicists Daniela Kraft and Julio Melio have created soft structures that can take on different shapes without any external drive in their lab. They present their research on microscale metamaterials in Nature—a breakthrough ...
General Physics
Feb 25, 2026
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42
It is commonly assumed that tiny particles just go with the flow as they make their way through soil, biological tissue, and other complex materials. But a team of Yale researchers led by Professor Amir Pahlavan shows that ...
General Physics
Feb 19, 2026
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42
Imagine a "smart fluid" whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study published in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of "smart fluids" ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 17, 2026
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33
Researchers at the University of Maine and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are collaborating on a new way to dry non-aggregated cellulose nanofiber—a material that could replace ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 31, 2026
0
44
Several years ago, scientists discovered that a single microscopic particle could rock back and forth on its own under a steady electric field. The result was curious, but lonely. Now, Northwestern University engineers have ...
Soft Matter
Jan 26, 2026
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