The physics of salad dressing

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have shown that in phase separation in liquids, as is seen when oil and water separate, occurs as a result of the ordered motion of droplets. Initially, a great number of small droplets ...

Rounding up the BCATs on the Space Station

Although it may not be herding cats exactly, all the NASA-supported Binary Colloidal Alloy Tests (BCAT) studies have ended on the International Space Station, and the experimental samples are being rounded up and returned ...

A liquid crystal force to reckon with

A need for fast, solution-based processing of organic electronic devices has sparked increased interest in 'discotic' or disc-shaped liquid crystals. These molecules, which contain a flat aromatic core surrounded by hydrocarbon ...

Insulator-metal transition at the nanoscale

Controlling the flow of electrons within circuits is achieved through the appropriate choice of materials. Metals allow electrons to flow freely and insulators prevent conduction. In general, the electrical properties of ...

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