Mighty morphing materials take complex shapes
Rice University scientists have created a rubbery, shape-shifting material that morphs from one sophisticated form to another on demand.
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Soft Matter news
Engineers demonstrate mechanics of making foam with bubbles in distinct sizes
It's easy to make bubbles, but try making hundreds of thousands of them a minute—all the same size.
Table-top experiment flips current understanding of solutal convection
When Yu "Alex" Liang started graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin, he was tasked with running a straight-forward experiment to collect data on a well-understood phenomenon in fluid mechanics: how density differences ...
Revealing hidden information in sound waves
By essentially turning down the pitch of sound waves, University of Michigan engineering researchers have devised a way to unlock greater amounts of data from acoustic fields than ever before.
How stretchy fluids react to wavy surfaces
Viscoelastic fluids are everywhere, whether racing through your veins or through 1,300 kilometers of pipe in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Unlike Newtonian fluids, such as oil or water, viscoelastic fluids stretch like a sticky ...
Simulating hypersonic flow transitions from smooth to turbulent
To break out of Earth's lower orbit, hypersonic vehicles must reach speeds greater than Mach 5. At these hypersonic speeds, the air particles and gases that flow around the vehicle and interact with the surfaces generate ...
Researchers develop new technique to understand biology at the nanoscale
Washington State University researchers for the first time have shown that they can use electrical fields to gain valuable information about the tiny, floating vesicles that move around in animals and plants and are critically ...
Taking a close look at bacteria
Yong Wang, assistant professor of physics, and graduate student Asmaa Sadoon have been studying how molecules travel through bacterial cytoplasm in order to understand more about how these tiny organisms function. Using new ...
Mechanical engineers develop ways to improve windfarm productivity
You've probably seen them, perhaps on long roadtrips: wind turbines with enormous, hypnotic rolling blades, harnessing the clean power of wind for conversion into electric energy. What you may not know is that for the explosion ...
Miniature magnetic swimming devices to revolutionise diagnostics and drug delivery
Scientists have created miniature magnetic swimming devices – which mimic the appearance of sperm cells – that could revolutionise disease treatment by swimming drugs to specific areas of the body.
Researchers challenge our assumptions on the effects of planetary rotation
The earth's rotation causes the Coriolis effect, which deflects massive air and water flows toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This phenomenon greatly impacts global ...
Self-folding metamaterial
The more complex the object, the harder it is to fold up. Space satellites often need many small motors to fold up an instrument, and people have difficulty simply folding up a roadmap. Physicists from Leiden and Amsterdam ...
The periodic motion of flexible knots, and the connection to DNA
Can the topology of microobjects influence the way they move in a fluid? Experiments and simulations of Polish and Swiss researchers published in the Physical Review Letters show that the dynamics of elastic chains settling ...
Particles surf their own waves, reveal how microbes and cells move through human body
Surf's up for microbes swimming beside red blood cells.
Can microswimmers swim through gel?
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have studied how microswimmers, like bacteria or sperm, swim through fluids with both solid and liquid-like properties, e.g., gels. They found that subtle changes in a swimmer's ...
Supercomputing simulations and machine learning to improve power plants
High-performance computing resources and data-driven machine learning help University of Stuttgart researchers model how coal, nuclear and geothermal power plants could be retrofitted for cleaner, safer, and more efficient ...
Household phenomenon observed by Leonardo da Vinci finally explained
An everyday occurrence spotted when we turn on the tap to brush our teeth has baffled engineers for centuries—why does the water splay when it hits the sink before it heads down the plughole?
Swimming bacteria work together to go with the flow
Swimming bacteria can reduce the viscosity of ordinary liquids like water and make them flow more easily, sometimes down to the point where the viscosity becomes zero: the flow is then frictionless.
Spraying efficiently: Breaking up is hard to do
Atomizing liquids is vital to fuel-air mixing. Using oscillating liquid streams, breakup and drop formation can be improved compared to common straight jets. But the many dynamic interactions make it difficult for scientists ...
Researchers describe unique molecular activity in water-ethanol mixtures
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have observed the formation of holes that move by themselves in droplets of ionic liquids (IL) sitting inside water-ethanol mixtures. This complex phenomenon is driven by an ...
Researchers developing new blood spatter models to better reconstruct crime scenes
Blood spatter can provide a lot of informanulltion to an investigator at a crime scene. Unfortunately, current methods do not tell the whole story. UIC Distinguished Professor Alexander Yarin and his colleagues have shown ...
How birds fly in flocks
Many fish species swim in schools and birds fly in flocks. Such collective behaviour must arise from the interactions between the animals. How it works was largely unclear. Now, two Wageningen-researchers provide important ...
Capillary flow is harnessed for the first time
You may never have heard of the capillary effect, but it's something you deal with every time you wipe up a spill or put flowers in water. Wouter van der Wijngaart has spent most of his life contemplating this phenomenon, ...
The vessel not taken: Understanding disproportionate blood flow
Each time a blood vessel splits into smaller vessels, red blood cells (RBCs) are presented with the same decision: Take the left capillary or the right. While one might think RBCs would divide evenly at every fork in the ...
Specialists in mechanics investigated the behavior of vacuum oil in space
A research team from the Research Institute of Mechanics, MSU together with a colleague from the Center of New Space Technologies, MAI described the behavior of a liquid sheet propagating in open space. The results of the ...
It all comes down to roughness
Lucio Isa and his team of researchers have explained how the surface characteristics of microspheres affect rapid increases in the viscosity of suspensions, thus laying the groundwork for applications such as smoothly flowing ...
How landscapes and landforms 'remember' or 'forget' their initial formations
Crescent dunes and meandering rivers can "forget" their initial shapes as they are carved and reshaped by wind and water while other landforms keep a memory of their past shape, suggests a new laboratory analysis by a team ...
The Matryoshka effect: Researchers describe underwater phenomenon
Researchers at Utah State University are sending cascades of water into a tank to uncover a mystery of fluid dynamics.
Theorists described an inertial lift of particles in microchannels
A group of scientists from MSU, Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Juelich Research Center have described the mechanism of appearance of an inertial lift force ...
Can we imitate organisms' abilities to decode water patterns for new technologies?
The shape of water. Can it tell us about what drives romance? Among fish, it might. Eva Kanso, a professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering studies fluid flows and almost like ...
Physicists show why it's hard to clog a drain with soft particles
Now scientists have shown that when the objects are squishy instead of solid, the reverse is true. The journal Physical Review E published the findings by physicists at Emory University, demonstrating that when soft particles ...
Hanging by a thread: Why bent fibers hold more water
On your next stroll through the woods, take a look at the dew droplets hanging from the leaves. If you see moisture on a cypress or juniper tree with their distinct bifurcated leaves, you'll likely see those water droplets ...
Kirigami inspires better bandages
Scraped up knees and elbows are tricky places to securely apply a bandage. More often than not, the adhesive will peel away from the skin with just a few bends of the affected joint.
Scientists create microscopic 'swimmers' controlled by a magnetic field
Rice University scientists have discovered what may be the simplest form of locomotion in the travels of micron-scale particles linked and driven by a magnetic field.
The view from inside supersonic combustion
In a jet engine, the flow of air is slowed down to increase the temperature and pressure for combustion—burning fuel with the right ratio of fuel and air to conquer drag allows for acceleration.
Shaken, and stirred: Scaling up bioreactors' fluid dynamics
Bioreactors are widely used to produce different therapeutics in the biopharmaceutical and regenerative medicine industries. Drug development relies on small multi-well plates shaken around an orbital diameter, while production-scale ...
So much depends on the velocity of tiny droplets cast upward
A day at the beach beset by heavy clouds, or the sticky heat of a salty haze can seem like the work of large, unpredictable forces. But behind such atmospheric phenomena are billions of tiny interactions between the air and ...
In the pipeline: A solution to a 130-year old problem
Whether a fluid is flowing through household plumbing or industrial oil and gas pipelines, when it runs slowly its flow is smooth, but when it runs quickly its flow is more chaotic.
Research helps break ground to clean up land
Researchers at Swansea University's Complex Flow Lab have been exploring the intricate shapes that emerge when air is injected into soil. Published in Physical Review Applied, these findings could one day be used to speed ...
Putting some skin in the turbulence game
An algorithm that improves simulations of turbulent flows by enabling the accurate calculation of a parameter called skin friction has been developed by KAUST researchers in collaboration with researchers at the California ...
Unusual thermal convection in a well-mixed fluid
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University, have recently discovered unusual thermal convection in a uniform mixture of high- and low-viscosity liquids. Kobayashi and Kurita found that concentration fluctuations are enhanced ...
Particles in charged solution form clusters that reproduce
Dr Martin Sweatman from the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering has discovered a simple physical principle that might explain how life started on Earth.
Electromagnetic water cloak eliminates drag and wake
Researchers have developed a water cloaking concept based on electromagnetic forces that could eliminate an object's wake, greatly reducing its drag while simultaneously helping it avoid detection.
Ancient climate change triggered warming that lasted thousands of years
A rapid rise in temperature on ancient Earth triggered a climate response that may have prolonged the warming for many thousands of years, according to scientists.
New nanoparticle targets tumor-infiltrating immune cells, flips switch
Immunotherapy's promise in the fight against cancer drew international attention after two scientists won a Nobel Prize this year for unleashing the ability of the immune system to eliminate tumor cells.
Mechanical engineers develop process to 3-D print piezoelectric materials
The piezoelectric materials that inhabit everything from our cell phones to musical greeting cards may be getting an upgrade thanks to work discussed in the journal Nature Materials released online Jan 21.
Scientists warn of climate 'time bomb' for world's groundwater
Future generations face an environmental "time bomb" as the world's groundwater systems take decades to respond to the present day impact of climate change, scientists warned on Monday.
New eclipsing cataclysmic variable discovered
Using the Mobile Astronomical System of Telescope-Robots (MASTER), an international team of astronomers has detected a new eclipsing cataclysmic variable. The newfound object, designated MASTER OT J061451.70–272535.5, is ...
Researchers capture an image of negative capacitance in action
For the first time ever, an international team of researchers imaged the microscopic state of negative capacitance. This novel result provides researchers with fundamental, atomistic insight into the physics of negative capacitance, ...
Toward ultrafast spintronics
Electronics have advanced through continuous improvements in microprocessor technology since the 1960s. However, this process of refinement is projected to stall in the near future due to constraints imposed by the laws of ...
In China, a link between happiness and air quality
For many years, China has been struggling to tackle high pollution levels that are crippling its major cities. Indeed, a recent study by researchers at Chinese Hong Kong University has found that air pollution in the country ...
Properties of graphene change in humid conditions
Graphene exhibits very different properties in humid conditions, according to researchers from Queen Mary University of London.
Ancient carpet shark discovered with 'spaceship-shaped' teeth
The world of the dinosaurs just got a bit more bizarre with a newly discovered species of freshwater shark whose tiny teeth resemble the alien ships from the popular 1980s video game Galaga.
Two- to three- fold increase in heatwave occurrence and severity seen directly in UK temperature records
A two to three-fold increase in heatwave activity in the United Kingdom since the late 19th century has been identified in a new analysis of historical daily temperature data led by University of Warwick scientists.
The disintegrating exoplanet K2-22b
Exoplanet surveys have yielded many surprises over the years, and the discovery of "disintegrating" exoplanets was one of them. These are planets that produce asymmetric shapes in the dips of the light curves seen as they ...
Competing species can both survive, study finds
When species compete for limited resources, structures in their environment can be the difference between coexistence or one eliminating another. Relationships between species also are important, according to new research ...
Mystery orbits in outermost reaches of solar system not caused by 'Planet Nine'
The strange orbits of some objects in the farthest reaches of our solar system, hypothesised by some astronomers to be shaped by an unknown ninth planet, can instead be explained by the combined gravitational force of small ...
Haze smoke affects butterfly caterpillars
NUS biologists have discovered that haze affects the survival and development of butterflies, which could have an adverse impact on our environment.
Frog choruses inspire wireless sensor networks
If you've ever camped by a pond, you know frogs make a racket at night; but what you might not know is how functional and regulated their choruses really are. Frogs communicate with sound, and amid their ruckus is an internally ...
Quantum sensors providing magnetic resonance with unprecedented sensitivity
A study by the Quantum Technologies for Information Science (QUTIS) group of the UPV/EHU's Department of Physical Chemistry, has produced a series of protocols for quantum sensors that could allow images to be obtained by ...
Cane toads: What they do in the shadows
Cane toads are picking up some shady habits, according to a new study co-authored by a Macquarie University researcher.
Scientists discover new 'architecture' in corn
New research on the U.S.'s most economically important agricultural plant—corn—has revealed a different internal structure of the plant than previously thought, which can help optimize how corn is converted into ethanol.
Broadband achromatic metalens focuses light regardless of polarization
We live in a polarized world. No, we aren't talking about politics—we're talking about light. Much of the light we see and use is partially polarized, meaning its electric field vibrates in specific directions. Lenses designed ...
How staying in shape is vital for reproductive success
Cells must keep their shape and proportions to successfully reproduce through cell division, finds new research from the Francis Crick Institute and King's College London.
'Sticky' water holds the key to antifouling surfaces
Researchers have unlocked the mystery of what makes water bind to certain surfaces, with implications for creating cheap and effective antifouling solutions.
Ecological benefits of part-night lighting revealed
Switching off street lights to save money and energy could have a positive knock-on effect on our nocturnal pollinators, according to new research.
Total lunar eclipse woos sky watchers
An unusual set of celestial circumstances came together over Sunday night and the wee hours of Monday for sky watchers in Europe, Africa and the Americas, where the moon was fully obscured before lighting up again with a ...
New technologies enable better-than-ever details on genetically modified plants
Salk researchers have mapped the genomes and epigenomes of genetically modified plant lines with the highest resolution ever to reveal exactly what happens at a molecular level when a piece of foreign DNA is inserted. Their ...
Scientists ID another possible threat to orcas: pink salmon
Over the years, scientists have identified dams, pollution and vessel noise as causes of the troubling decline of the Pacific Northwest's resident killer whales. Now, they may have found a new and more surprising culprit: ...
Targeting 'hidden pocket' for treatment of stroke and seizure
The ideal drug is one that only affects the exact cells and neurons it is designed to treat, without unwanted side effects. This concept is especially important when treating the delicate and complex human brain. Now, scientists ...
Technology near for real-time TV political fact checks
A Duke University team expects to have a product available for election year that will allow television networks to offer real-time fact checks onscreen when a politician makes a questionable claim during a speech or debate.
Waves in Saturn's rings give precise measurement of planet's rotation rate
Saturn's distinctive rings were observed in unprecedented detail by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and scientists have now used those observations to probe the interior of the giant planet and obtain the first precise determination ...
Researchers find cooling effect of aerosols in cumulus and MSC clouds twice as high as thought
An international team of researchers has found evidence that suggests the cooling effect of aerosols in cumulus and MSC clouds is twice as high as thought. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes ...
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