Browse Physics

The circular swimming motion of self-propelled, L-shaped microparticles may provide insight into microorganisms that are similarly lacking in symmetry.

Shaken or stirred? Suspended beads stir themselves when shaken in a new experiment using magnetic levitation.

Removing the charged layer around a particle allows detailed measurements of its motion in an electric field.

Shape-preserving waves that create a depression in the surrounding medium are observed in water for the first time.

The use of optical tweezers in a high-pressure experiment allows a more direct measurement of water viscosity in extreme conditions.

Convective mixing of fluids goes faster when the container is tilted—a finding that may impact the choosing of geological sites for carbon dioxide storage.

A new theory attempts to explain the exceptionally long life of air nanobubbles on wet surfaces.

Researchers explain where those X- and Y-shaped waves at the shore come from.

High-speed camera studies show the detailed behavior of liquid droplets bouncing and eventually shooting off of a hot surface.

The universal shape of necking liquids as they form drops has been measured experimentally.

Researchers have developed a new method of magnetic resonance imaging that can track the turbulent flow that swirls around moving bubbles.

A phenomenon called capillary fracturing determines how fluids drain into tightly packed porous granular media.

Hard spheres may favor one structural arrangement over others that are less mechanically stable during assembly.

Paper pyramids hovering in an oscillating air column enlighten us about the stability of flying insects.

Liquids that approach an often-quoted lower limit for viscosity are deemed “perfect,” but now this lower limit is itself being questioned.

A simple analytical model may explain what causes the lift forces that keep a flapping flag from drooping.

A feedback mechanism in an evaporating liquid produces a variety of complex yet controlled patterns.

Bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen burn spontaneously if they are small enough.

Magnetism may propel liquids in a pump without moving parts.

Ridges and dips provide control of how a drop of liquid, despite extreme mobility, moves on a very hot surface.