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A quirky fluid that has robotic capabilities

Scientists have designed a liquid that behaves as both a solid and a fluid owing to the presence of tiny gas-filled capsules. An unusual relationship between pressure and volume enables this material to grasp fragile objects.
  1. P.-T. Brun

    1. P.-T. Brun is in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.

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Solids, gases and liquids are states of matter with well-established — albeit dissimilar — properties. For instance, gases can be compressed, whereas liquids cannot; solids have a definite shape, but gases and liquids conform easily to a container. Writing in Nature, Djellouli et al.1 blur the lines between these states by developing a ‘metafluid’ with intriguing properties.

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Nature 628, 508-509 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00888-x

References

  1. Djellouli, A. et al. Nature 628, 545–550 (2024).

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  3. Audoly, B. & Pomeau, Y. Elasticity and Geometry: From Hair Curls to the Non-linear Response of Shells (Oxford Univ. Press, 2010).

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  4. Boyer, F., Pouliquen, O. & Guazzelli, É. J. Fluid Mech. 686, 5–25 (2011).

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  11. Brun, P.-T. JACS Au 2, 2417–2425 (2022).

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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