Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Author Spotlight: Development of a Scaffold-Free Acoustic Assembly Method for High-Quality 3D Cell Spheroid Culture
Published on: October 13, 2023
Self-assembly of two-dimensional islands via strain-mediated coarsening
1University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Abstract:
We demonstrate two distinctive effects of strain-induced island-island interaction on island size and spatial distribution during coarsening of 2D islands. When coarsening proceeds via only mass transport between islands, the interaction broadens the island size distribution, leading to a power-law dependence of island size uniformity on island number density. When coarsening proceeds via island migration in addition to mass transport between islands, the interaction can effectively direct island motion through island edge diffusion, leading to self-organized formation of a regular array of islands with both uniform size and spacing.
Related Concept Videos
Three-Dimensional Analysis of Strain
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
Thermal Strain
Shearing Strain
Measurements of Strain
Dimensional Analysis
Conversion Factors and Dimensional Analysis
The unit...

