Artificial microswimmers have received much attention in recent years. By mimicking microbes which convert their surrounding energy into swimming motions, these particles could soon be exploited for ...

Imagine a “smart fluid” whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of ...

The nematic liquid crystal phase is defined by long-range orientational order of anisotropic molecules without positional order. In its simplest uniaxial form, molecules align along a common axis ...

Liquid crystals differ from isotropic fluids (fluids with similar properties in different directions) to exhibit highly anisotropic (varying properties in different directions) interactions with ...

Researchers at CU Boulder’s Soft Materials Research Center (SMRC) have discovered an elusive phase of matter, first proposed more than 100 years ago and sought after ever since. Nematic liquid ...

More than 100 years after a pair of imaginative physicists first proposed a new phase of liquid crystal, scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have managed to produce it and have been left ...

Researchers have discovered that ferroelectric fluids can harness an overlooked transverse electrostatic force (TEF) to rise over 80 mm, without magnets or high voltages. By exploiting the fluid’s ...

Researchers have discovered that ferroelectric fluids can harness an overlooked transverse electrostatic force (TEF) to rise over 80 mm, without magnets or high voltages. By exploiting the fluid's ...

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder Materials Research Center have discovered an elusive phase of matter that was first proposed more than 100 years ago. Scientists have been trying to ...

New research shows how control over self-propelled microswimmers could be achieved using exotic materials named 'nematic liquid crystals' - whose viscosity and elasticity can vary depending on the ...

Researchers at CU Boulder’s Soft Materials Research Center (SMRC) have discovered an elusive phase of matter, first proposed more than 100 years ago and sought after ever since. Nematic liquid ...