Interactions in fluids as a research area investigates the microscopic and macroscopic forces and couplings among fluid constituents (molecules, particles, droplets, bubbles, or macromolecules) and their consequences for fluid structure, dynamics, and transport. It encompasses hydrodynamic interactions, intermolecular forces, colloidal and multiphase interactions, and coupling between flow fields and interfaces. The field integrates continuum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and computational fluid dynamics to study phenomena such as non-Newtonian behavior, turbulence modulation, self-assembly in suspensions, and transport in complex or active fluids, with relevance to soft matter physics, chemical engineering, and biological fluid systems.
Cornstarch can thicken soup or serve as a base for a DIY shampoo, but there's more to the humble pantry staple. Given the right conditions, it seems to defy the laws of physics. Mixing cornstarch with water creates "oobleck"—a ...
Soft Matter
Jul 13, 2026
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13
One day, tiny swimming robots may travel through the human body to deliver drugs. The medication would target only areas of need—chemotherapy drugs for a tumor, for example—avoiding healthy tissue and minimizing side effects. ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 6, 2026
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15
Our body contains an intricate system of tiny vessels through which blood, water and other molecules flow. When the size of the pipes shrinks to the nanoscale, where only a few molecules can fit side by side, the classical ...
Condensed Matter
Jun 22, 2026
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26
A research team in Bochum, Germany has unexpectedly found that light can slow down movements in the nanoworld. This is due to quantum friction, a phenomenon that has been poorly understood until now. The findings are published ...
Nanophysics
Jun 11, 2026
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42
After traveling hundreds of miles above Earth and spending months aboard the International Space Station, a University of Delaware experiment has returned to campus, bringing new data on how turbulence behaves in microgravity.
General Physics
May 28, 2026
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33
Physicists at the University of Bayreuth have investigated the so-called Basset–Boussinesq history force acting on particles in fluids. Due to the difficulty of calculating it, this force is often neglected—a fact that Bayreuth ...
Soft Matter
May 19, 2026
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15
Sitting in a restaurant, you reach for the ketchup bottle, eyeing the basket of fries in front of you. You give the bottle a shake, then a tap. For a moment, nothing happens—the ketchup clings stubbornly to the glass. Then, ...
General Physics
May 13, 2026
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12
Water droplets might seem simple at first. But when nearing evaporation, a desperate power struggle of competing physical forces can emerge, with explosive effects. In a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publication, ...
General Physics
May 1, 2026
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98
A humble droplet can be an immensely useful tool for a number of fields, from medicine to manufacturing. Controlling the size of the droplet, though, is an important—and very tricky—task. With unprecedented precision, a team ...
Soft Matter
Mar 19, 2026
0
15
What governs the speed at which raindrops fall, sediment settles in river estuaries, and matter is ejected during a supernova? These questions circle around one, deceitfully simple factor: the rate at which a fluid filled ...
General Physics
Mar 11, 2026
0
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