News
-
Physicists find way to control fractures 12 October 2016
Rigid materials break more easily than floppy ones. This simple observation allows to predict and control the width of cracks. Theoretical understandi...
-
New force measured between proteins 13 September 2016
Proteins organize themselves around our body cells through a self-induced force. They indent the cell membrane, which makes them roll towards each oth...
-
Building with flexible blocks 28 July 2016
On an apparently normal cube a pattern of hollows and bulges appears when the cube is compressed. A method has been developed to design such three-dim...
-
NWO Veni Grant for Bouncing Balls on Hot Plate 14 July 2016
Physicist Scott Waitukaitis receives an NWO Veni grant to research the Leidenfrost effect for squishy materials. This effect is well-known for dancing...
-
Tiny clumps recycle themselves into complex structures 06 April 2016
Manufacturers produce high-end technology mostly top-down with large machinery, but small particles are able to build structures by themselves from th...
-
New material challenges 250 year old building principles 22 July 2015
Researchers at FOM-institute AMOLF and the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) have developed a rubber rod with strange bending behaviours. Beyond a ce...