Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity

Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity

Surface Tension
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...

Colloids

Colloids

Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...

Colloids and Suspensions

Colloids and Suspensions

Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles visible to the naked eye or seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. The suspended particles in a suspension settle out after some time of mixing. The separation of particles from a suspension is...

Colloidal precipitates

Colloidal precipitates

The high insolubility of some precipitates can result in an unfavorable relative supersaturation. This can lead to colloidal particles with a large surface-to-mass ratio, where adsorption is promoted. For instance, in the precipitation of silver chloride, silver ions are adsorbed on the surface of the colloidal particles, forming a primary layer. This layer attracts ions of opposite charge (such as nitrate ions), forming a diffuse secondary layer of adsorbed ions. This electric double layer...

Coagulation

Coagulation

Colloidal solids are solid particles suspended in solution. They are usually negatively charged, attracting a compact primary layer of positively charged ions, which attract more counterions to form an electrical double layer. Electrostatic repulsion between the charged double layers prevents the particles from colliding, stabilizing the colloids. These solids are often undesirable because they can contain toxins that are difficult to remove. Coagulation is a technique that helps aggregate and...

The Colloidal State

The Colloidal State

The formation of a colloidal system is exemplified by an aqueous solution containing Cl− ions is introduced to another containing Ag+ ions, resulting in the precipitation of solid AgCl as extremely tiny crystals. Instead of settling out as a filterable precipitate, these crystals remain suspended in the liquid, showcasing a colloidal system.A colloidal system involves colloidal particles within the approximate range of 1 to 1000 nm in at least one dimension, dispersed in a medium called the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Reverse Janssen effect with non-spherical grains.

Physical review. E·2026

Same author

Liquidlike Dynamics in Ordered Soft-Particle Systems.

Physical review letters·2026

Same author

Structure-dynamics decoupling in soft-colloid suspensions.

Nature communications·2025

Same author

Hidden order in active nematic defects.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025

Same author

Evaporation from spherical chitosan polymer gels.

The Journal of chemical physics·2025

Same author

Stiff Hydrogel Encapsulation Retains Mesenchymal Stem Cell Stemness for Regenerative Medicine.

Matter·2024

Same journal

Incoming US science academy chief vows to 'double down' on research.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Author Correction: Synthesis of enantioenriched atropisomers by biocatalytic deracemization.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Electrodeposited self-assembled molecules for perovskite photovoltaics.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Neutrino's nursery found: the 'Shadow Blaster'.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Dementia risk in middle-aged people linked to a blood protein.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Daily briefing: What's really happening with trust in science.

Nature·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures

Published on: May 21, 2014

Soft colloids make strong glasses.

Johan Mattsson¹, Hans M Wyss, Alberto Fernandez-Nieves

¹Department of Physics and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. johanm@chalmers.se

|November 6, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Deformable colloidal particles exhibit variable fragility, mirroring molecular liquids. This discovery, linked to particle elasticity, offers new insights into glass formation and dynamic arrest in materials.

More Related Videos

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Published on: April 22, 2016

Glass-Based Devices to Generate Drops and Emulsions

Glass-Based Devices to Generate Drops and Emulsions

Published on: April 5, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 11, 2026

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures

Confocal Imaging of Confined Quiescent and Flowing Colloid-polymer Mixtures

Published on: May 21, 2014

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids

Published on: April 22, 2016

Glass-Based Devices to Generate Drops and Emulsions

Glass-Based Devices to Generate Drops and Emulsions

Published on: April 5, 2022

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Soft Matter Physics
Physical Chemistry

Background:

Glass formation in colloidal suspensions shares similarities with molecular materials, driven by volume fraction (phi) analogous to temperature (T).
Hard-sphere colloids exhibit limited fragility, restricting their utility in studying diverse glass transition behaviors.
Fragility, a measure of viscosity or relaxation time sensitivity to T or phi, is crucial for understanding dynamic arrest in glass-forming liquids.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if deformable colloidal particles can replicate the diverse fragility behaviors observed in molecular liquids.
To explore the relationship between particle elasticity and fragility in colloidal systems.
To establish colloidal suspensions as a versatile model for studying glass formation.

Main Methods:

Studied deformable colloidal particles through their concentration dependence at a fixed temperature.
Analyzed the relationship between particle elasticity and fragility.
Investigated analogous effects in molecular systems to correlate elasticity and fragility.

Main Results:

Deformable colloidal particles demonstrated a range of fragility, comparable to molecular liquids.
Particle fragility was found to be dictated by the elastic properties of individual colloidal particles.
A direct correlation between elasticity and fragility was observed in molecular systems.

Conclusions:

Deformable colloidal suspensions offer a broader spectrum of fragility, overcoming limitations of hard-sphere models.
Colloidal particle elasticity is a key determinant of system fragility.
This work bridges the gap between colloidal and molecular glass science, enhancing our understanding of dynamic arrest.