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Soft Matter news
New AI method flags fluid flow tipping points before simulations break down
David J. Silvester, a mathematics professor at the University of Manchester, has developed a novel machine-learning method to detect sudden changes in fluid behavior, improving speed and the cost of identifying these instabilities ...
Soft Matter
Apr 9, 2026
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Water-repelling surfaces reveal surprising charging effects
Materials that repel water are used in countless applications, including industrial separation processes, routine laboratory pipetting, and medical devices. When water touches these surfaces, the interface where they meet ...
Soft Matter
Apr 6, 2026
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Strained liquid crystals steer soliton 'bullets' along two diagonal paths
In physics, some waves behave in a surprising way: instead of spreading out and fading, they hold their shape as they travel at constant speeds. These unusual waves, called solitons, have interested scientists since they ...
Soft Matter
Mar 30, 2026
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Lab-based mini-atmosphere reveals how turbulence changes on different scales
With a new lab-based experiment, researchers in the UK and France have recreated the characteristic cascades of energy and angular momentum that underpin key features of Earth's atmosphere. Reporting in Physical Review Letters, ...
Liquids can fracture like solids—researchers discover the breaking point
In a development that could shift our basic understanding of fluid mechanics, researchers from Drexel University have reported that, given the right circumstances, it is possible to induce a simple liquid to fracture like ...
Soft Matter
Mar 28, 2026
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X-ray lasers enable the discovery of a critical point in water
Using X-ray lasers, researchers at Stockholm University have been able to determine the existence of a critical point in supercooled water at around -63 °C and 1,000 atmospheres. Ordinary water at higher temperatures and ...
General Physics
Mar 26, 2026
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Fish gill-inspired panels reveal path to efficient thermal mixing
A fascination with fish gills has led researchers at Cornell to develop a bio-inspired approach to mixing heat and molecules in fluids—findings that could inform future biomedical devices, heat exchangers and soft robotics.
General Physics
Mar 24, 2026
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Building a better, more precise droplet
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
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Is glass a solid or a super slow liquid? Physicists create equilibrium glassy phase from rod-shaped particles
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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Simulations suggest a breakthrough in understanding how turbulence develops
A new study revisits a century-old question about how turbulence starts. The findings could potentially influence not only aircraft engineering but even the design of mechanical heart valves, and treatment of heart disease. ...
Soft Matter
Mar 11, 2026
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Fluid simulation at unprecedented scale provides toolkit for fundamental physics and applied fluid engineering
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
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Understanding how wind moves pollen can guide urban planning decisions about green spaces
Due to climate change, plants' pollination season has been growing longer and longer. As a result, people are exposed to allergens for extended periods each year, raising a major public health concern. Researchers from Embry‑Riddle ...
General Physics
Mar 10, 2026
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How does snow gather on a roof? Simulation considers turbulence alongside snowflake size
No two snowflakes may be the same, but models that fail to take these variations into consideration often fall short when calculating the way snow accumulates on roofs. In Physics of Fluids, researchers from Harbin Institute ...
General Physics
Mar 10, 2026
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Nanosecond light-by-light switching achieved in liquid crystal droplet
Controlling light with light is a long-sought goal for computing and communication technologies. Achieving this capability would allow optical signals to be processed without converting them into electrical signals, potentially ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 9, 2026
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'Mesoscale' swimmers could pave way for drug delivery robots inside the body
In physics, the mesoscale lies between the microscopic and the macroscopic. It is not just the domain of tiny living creatures like small larvae, shrimp, and jellyfish, but also where physics equations become extreme. While ...
General Physics
Mar 8, 2026
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Polymers that crawl like worms: How materials can develop direction without being told where to go
Researchers at the University of Vienna have uncovered a surprising phenomenon: polymer chains with segments that simply fluctuate at different intensities can spontaneously develop directional, persistent motion when densely ...
General Physics
Mar 5, 2026
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Reduce rust by dumping your wok twice, and other kitchen tips
When you reach the bottom of a container of milk or honey, you might be tempted to tip the container over to get that last pesky little bit out. After all, you only need another teaspoon for that recipe, and you're sure it's ...
Soft Matter
Mar 3, 2026
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Scientists unveil universal aging mechanism in glassy materials
"Glass" has a unique and distinct meaning in physics—one that refers not just to the transparent material we associate with window glass. Instead, it refers to any system that looks solid but is not in true equilibrium and ...
Soft Matter
Mar 2, 2026
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Simulations show a path to 'ideal glass' with crystal-like entropy
The types of glass that we encounter in everyday life, such as window glass or smartphone screens, are disordered solids. This means that they consist of particles locked in place, like those in solids, but arranged randomly, ...
Tackling industry's burdensome bubble problem
In industrial plants around the world, tiny bubbles cause big problems. Bubbles clog filters, disrupt chemical reactions, reduce throughput during biomanufacturing, and can even cause overheating in electronics and nuclear ...
Soft Matter
Feb 26, 2026
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More news
Particles don't always go with the flow (and why that matters)
A smart fluid that can be reconfigured with temperature
Using complex networks to tame combustion instability
Physics of foam strangely resembles AI training
Other news
Microbial hockey: Scientists discover how bacteria rotate tiny pucks
'Poor man's Majoranas' can be used as quantum spin probes
After Artemis II, NASA looks to SpaceX, Blue Origin for moon landings
Glaciers rapidly declining, with extreme losses in 2025
Back-to-back Amazon droughts trigger record forest stress
A 3D-printed Christmas tree made entirely of ice
Making lighter work of calculating fluid and heat flow
Parachutes: A vital part of Artemis II's trip home
SoCal's hybrid bees outsmart Varroa mites before they even hatch
SNIPE bacterial defense system shreds phage DNA before infection can begin
