Nanowerk September 15, 2021
To study if the non-equilibrium structures can be controlled or be useful researchers in Finland subjected combinations of oils with different dielectric constants and conductivities to an electric field. When an electric field turned on over the mixture, electrical charge accumulated at the interface between the oils shearing the interface out of thermodynamic equilibrium. The liquids were confined into a thin, nearly two-dimensional sheet taking various droplets and patterns. The droplets could be made into squares and hexagons with straight sides. The two liquids could be also made to form into interconnected lattices, grid patterns that occur regularly in solid materials but are unheard of in liquid mixtures. The liquids could be made to form a torus, a donut shape, which was stable and held its shape while the field was applied or form filaments that roll and rotate around an axis. The shapes were prevented from collapsing back into equilibrium by the motion of the electrical charges building up at the interface. According to the researchers voltage-controlled optical devices would mimic the dynamics and collective behaviour of microorganisms like bacteria and microalgae that propel themselves using completely different mechanisms…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Non-equilibrium fluidic lattices….Credit: SCIENCE ADVANCES, 15 Sep 2021, Vol 7, Issue 38.Â