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Updated: Dec 9, 2025

Forming, Confining, and Observing Microtubule-Based Active Nematics
Published on: January 13, 2023
Soft matter: from shapes to forces on the nanoscale
Derek Y C Chan1, Ofer Manor2, Jason N Connor3
1Particulate Fluids Processing Centre, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. D.Chan@unimelb.edu.au O.Manor@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au and Department of Mathematics, National University of Singapore, 117543, Singapore. matchand@nus.edu.sg.
Abstract:
Soft matter deforms in response to imposed external forces. Here we demonstrate how dynamic surface forces are linked to far-field deformations. This offers a new paradigm for determining forces between soft particles in colloidal systems. The particular example we use to illustrate this concept is that of a fluid drop interacting with a solid wall through hydrodynamic drainage flow coupled with repulsive or attractive dissimilar electrical double layer interactions. The force can be deduced from a simple analysis of the drop surface geometry outside the interaction zone.
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