Browse Physics

A pair of colliding water droplets merges on the rebound, rather than when they’re squeezing against each other. The results should improve understanding of the separation process of oil-water mixtures important in industry.

Experiments with tiny beads mimicking atoms shed light on the mysterious atomic-scale rearrangements that occur when molten glass solidifies.

Nanoscale air bubbles in water appear to withstand huge swings in pressure, further deepening the mystery as to why they can exist in the first place.

Quasicrystals–orderly but not-quite-crystalline structures–have mostly appeared in solids, but researchers have now made a larger-scale version with polymers.

A micro-art technique offers the possibility of improved construction of microstructures.

A new theory explains the formation of interlaced zipper-like patterns that appear when thin ice sheets collide.

The ‘crystallization’ of shaken sand-like grains matches the process in computer simulations of idealized molecules, implying that the physics of gases and fluids may apply to granular materials.

A specially designed layer of granular material can provide improved protection against sudden impacts, a theorist predicts.

Oil droplets zip around the bottom of a petri dish powered by their attraction to surfactant molecules and can cover the same ground many times.

Colorful soap films confirm an old theory on mixing in a turbulent fluid.

Researchers have measured the energy required for two membranes to fuse–the process that occurs when a virus attacks a cell.

Computer simulations and experiments show that a ball can rebound from a surface with more vertical speed than it had initially.

After decades of searching, researchers identified a new type of liquid crystal where the molecules align in two dimensions, rather than one.

Forcing water drops through a T-shaped intersection of tubes breaks them into droplets of reproducible size.

Researchers study lunar crater formation by dropping balls into sand.

Water can play a dual role in granular mixtures, encouraging mixing in some situations but discouraging it in others.

A new theory predicts the structure of wrinkles in thin sheets of any material and may offer ways of eliminating them.

A new technique generates miniature dunes in a water tank and appears to verify fundamental principles of dune formation.

Experiments on the response of crumpled sheets to a squeezing force help explain their extraordinary strength.

Sand flowing down a rough slope forms eddies–the first example of spontaneous vortices in a granular material.