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Soft Matter news
Droplet impacts reveal surprising physics in shear-thickening fluids
From ketchup to quicksand, non-Newtonian fluids have long fascinated and puzzled scientists. Unlike ordinary fluids, their flow properties change depending on how much force is applied, but the precise mechanics governing ...
A 'blob' in a tank is helping scientists tease out the secrets of turbulence
In a tank on the bottom floor of a University of Chicago research laboratory, scientists summon "The Blob" into existence by firing water jets to create an artfully choreographed series of rings.
General Physics
Apr 14, 2026
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From ship wakes to soft tissues: Exploring fluid and solid surface-wave physics
A new study by scientists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) shows that when a pressure disturbance moves across an ultrasoft elastic material, such as a gel or a biological tissue, ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 13, 2026
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Rapid method uncovers hidden structures in materials—including elusive quasicrystals
An international team of scientists, including researchers from Loughborough University, has developed a method to dramatically speed up the discovery and design of advanced materials. The study, published in Physical Review ...
General Physics
Apr 13, 2026
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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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More news
Tackling industry's burdensome bubble problem
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
Other news
Drought takes a heavy toll on bumblebees
Bottled lightning makes a cleaner fuel
Subaru telescope captures comet 3I/ATLAS composition change
Copper's 'gatekeeper' could unlock cleaner energy future
Super magma reservoirs discovered beneath Tuscany
Ph.D. student solves persistent problem in high-entropy alloys
