Smectic ordering in aqueous solutions of monodisperse stiff double-stranded DNA fragments is known not to occur, despite the fact that these systems exhibit both chiral nematic and columnar mesophases ...

A thin elastic sheet lying on a soft substrate develops wrinkled patterns when subject to an external forcing or as a result of geometric incompatibility. Thin sheet elasticity and substrate response ...

(Phys.org)—Scientists have found that an intricately beautiful yet poorly understood type of crystal found in soap bubbles follows the same mathematical rules as a much better understood type of ...

A new paper has been published on the unusual microstructure of smectics -- liquid crystals whose molecules are arranged in layers and form ellipses and hyperbolas -- and their similarity to ...

The liquid crystals used in displays nowadays are usually in a nematic phase, i.e. a liquid-like state of almost parallel oriented molecules. However, there is another liquid crystal phase which has a ...

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed "smart glass" that can switch back and forth between transparency and opaqueness while barely using any energy at all. It's a trick that's ...

ITHACA, N.Y. - Using the latest computer game technology, a Cornell-led team of physicists has come up with a "suitably beautiful" explanation to a puzzle that has baffled researchers in the materials ...