Phys.org  October 19, 2021 A team of researchers in the US (Case Western reserve University, Tufts University, Sandia National Laboratory) manipulated an “orientable Newtonian liquid,” in this case to a nematic liquid crystal that behaves predictably, i.e., linearly, when an outside stimulus is applied. They forced the liquid crystal/air interface to change shape merely by exploiting the orientability of the molecules that comprise the liquid crystal by placing a patterned substrate on the opposite side of a thin nematic film. By doing so, they were able to control the alignment of molecules throughout the material which resulted in the appearance […]