A cornstarch-water droplet can behave like a liquid and a solid at the same time, depending on how it is stressed.
High-speed imaging reveals how these “oobleck” drops reshape on impact, highlighting the surprising physics of shear-thickening fluids.
🔗 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01109-3
#FluidDynamics #SoftMatter #Rheology #ComplexFluids #physics
What looks like a simple bubble can become a delivery system. New materials store therapeutic gases and release them through controlled interfacial dynamics.
Liquids are usually expected to flow continuously. But under strong extensional stress, viscosity alone can trigger sudden, fracture-like failure.
Could this help control flows in hydraulics, 3D printing, or even blood vessels?
🔗 https://phys.org/news/2026-03-liquids-fracture-solids.html
#FluidMechanics #Rheology #SoftMatter #FracturePhysics #Biofluidics
In a development that could shift our basic understanding of fluid mechanics, researchers from Drexel University have reported that, given the right circumstances, it is possible to induce a simple liquid to fracture like a solid object. Recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the research shows how viscous liquids can suddenly break if stretched with enough force.
Plant-based milks aren’t simple liquids. Most behave as non-Newtonian fluids, flowing more easily under stress due to tiny amounts of added gums.
A reminder that everyday fluids can hide complex physics.
#NonNewtonian #FluidDynamics #SoftMatter #EverydayPhysics #foodscience
What controls the motion of self-propelled particles at interfaces?
Experiments and simulations show how Marangoni forces drive elliptical Janus particles, with dynamics strongly shaped by size and eccentricity.
🔗 https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/sm/d5sm01270h
#marangoni #ActiveMatter #softmatter #fluiddynamics #janusparticles
Optimizing particle shape for confined microchannels can boost transport efficiency.
Prolate or oblate spheroids outperform spheres under certain conditions, guiding designs in microfluidics and targeted delivery.
🔗 https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2026/sm/d6sm00038j
#Microfluidics #particledynamics #softmatter #Colloids #drugdelivery
Tiny droplets, big potential.
Yale scientists studied 5,000 breakups to understand how droplets split under different conditions.
A step forward for microfluidics applications.
🔗 https://phys.org/news/2026-03-precise-droplet.html
#Microfluidics #dropletphysics #softmatter #MicroReactors #drugdelivery
A humble droplet can be an immensely useful tool for a number of fields, from medicine to manufacturing. Controlling the size of the droplet, though, is an important—and very tricky—task. With unprecedented precision, a team of researchers determined how droplets break up into smaller ones, at what size, and under what conditions. The results of this study are published in Soft Matter.
Inspired by nature, scientists show that bursting bubbles inside droplets can launch centimetre-scale water drops.
Implications for microscale 3D printing, material deposition, and everyday self-cleaning surfaces.
🔗 https://physicsworld.com/a/a-bursting-bubble-can-make-a-puddle-jump/
#SoftMatter #FluidDynamics #DropletJumping #SurfaceEnergy #Microfluidics
Scientists are creating “animate” droplets that can act, adapt, and respond on their own, blurring the line between living and non-living matter.
Could this inspire new ways to control liquids?
#softmatter #ActiveMatter #dropletphysics #AutonomousSystems #fluiddynamics
How does a droplet dry when space is confined?
Experiments by B. Sobac and colleagues using interferometry and controlled humidity track the evaporation of binary liquid droplets in a 2D geometry.
Useful for studying droplet evaporation.
🔗 https://journals.aps.org/prfluids/abstract/10.1103/9zdm-drvp
#FluidDynamics #Droplets #Evaporation #SoftMatter #TransportPhenomena
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