Cilia are sensory structures extending from the surface of some cells. These hair-like structures are known to contribute to the sensorimotor capabilities of various living organisms, including humans.
Soft Matter
Exploring what happens when different spherical objects hit the water
When an object hits a body of water vertically, it is accompanied by a strong hydrodynamic force fueled by the flow of water around it, which propels it forward. The magnitude of this force is known to vary depending on the mass of the object hitting the water.
Study sheds light on the origin of elasticity in glasses and gels
Glasses and gels are two different types of solid materials that are commonly used in a wide range of settings. Despite their markedly different compositions, these distinct materials share some similar properties, for instance, they exhibit rigidity without a...
Researchers offer theoretical description of topological water wave structures
Topological wave structures are wave patterns that exhibit specific topological properties, or in other words, properties that remain unvaried under smooth deformations of a physical system. These structures, such as vortices and skyrmions, have attracted significant...
A new formula to calculate the strength of thin conical structures
Conical structures can have advantageous applications in a variety of fields, ranging from robotics to civil engineering. Studies have found that conical shells made of liquid crystal elastomer films can be effective lifters; devices that can generate thrust for...
A new approach to controlling the properties of turbulence
Turbulence, a fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in flow velocity and pressure, has been the topic of countless physics studies. Although turbulence is a very common phenomenon that occurs in nature, manipulating it and controlling its properties had so far...
A numerical protocol to estimate local entropy production
In physics, equilibrium is a state in which a system's motion and internal energy do not change over time. Videos of systems in equilibrium would look exactly the same if they were watched in their normal chronological progression or backwards. This symmetry means...
Using machine learning to infer rules for designing complex mechanical metamaterials
Mechanical metamaterials are sophisticated artificial structures with mechanical properties that are driven by their structure, rather than their composition. While these structures have proved to be very promising for the development of new technologies designing...
A new experimental study tackles the unsolved mystery of ‘nanobubbles’
Nanobubbles are extremely small (i.e., nanoscopic) gaseous cavities that some physicists observed in aqueous solutions, typically after specific substances were dissolved in them. While some studies reported the observation of these incredibly tiny bubbles, some...
Study shows that zwitterions can raise the dielectric constant of soft materials
To create efficient energy storage solutions and actuators, engineers need materials with a high dielectric constant. The dielectric constant is essentially the ratio of a substance's permittivity (i.e., its ability to store electrical energy in an electric field) to...