Browse Physics

Experiments with soap films clinging to an adjustable wire framework show that the shape of the film depends on its history.

The complex topography of a crumpled piece of paper has only two basic types of regions, and they can be combined to build up the whole surface, according to calculations.

Experiments and modeling point to the optimal shapes for enhancing lift or drag forces on objects moving in granular media.

A temperature effect could allow us to dynamically change the stochastic behavior of certain colloidal particles.

New techniques measure mechanical properties of proteins without damaging them.

Spatial variations can drive evolution in certain ecological habitats.

A different take on shearing forces in gooey fluids provides a better description of viscoelasticity.

Simulated soils made of glass beads and various pastes dry at different rates, depending on the properties of their smallest particles. The work suggests new ways to study an aspect of soil that is critical for agriculture.

New experiments resolve differences in measuring the viscosity of liquids confined to thin films at the molecular level.

The ease with which proteins in a colloid change shape is one factor limiting how well they crystallize.

The squashed, peanutlike shapes of a rubber band rolling at various speeds are predicted by equations that model the competition between gravitational, bending, and inertial forces.

Experiments with thin films show what factors control wrinkling and folding.

Drops of water striking a bed of grains can leave a wide range of crater shapes and sometimes a bigger impression at low and high impact speeds than at medium speeds. The work may help geoscientists identify ancient formations.

Experiments on microscopic beads suggest that crystals melt suddenly, with no liquid-solid coexistence phase, when the crystal is only a few layers thick–somewhere between 2D and 3D.

Spray deposition processes are determined by how droplets bounce off or stick to water-repellant surfaces.

As aqueous emulsions containing colloidal particles dry, two very different behaviors are observed.

Constrained polymer strands have unusual mechanical properties when they are distorted.

The critical Casimir effect—the thermodynamic analog to the quantum case—appears as a measurable force in colloids.

Using a new laser technique, researchers can make a wide variety of bubble shapes–such as squares and donuts–some of which may prove useful in manipulating nanoscale objects.

The interfaces between a mixture of two liquids act as support structures for making a colloidal gel.