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 of Fluid

Surface Tension of Fluid

Surface tension is a fundamental property of fluids, occurring at the boundary between a liquid and a gas or between two immiscible liquids. This phenomenon arises from the cohesive forces between molecules at the fluid's surface, creating an effect similar to a stretched elastic membrane. Inside each fluid, molecules are equally attracted in all directions by neighboring molecules, but surface molecules experience a net inward force, resulting in surface tension.
Surface tension varies...

Surface Tension and Surface Energy

Surface Tension and Surface Energy

When a paint brush is immersed in water, the bristles wave freely inside the water. When it is taken out, the bristles stick together. The reason behind this effect is surface tension.
Consider a beaker filled with liquid. The bulk molecules in the liquid experience equal attractive forces on all sides with the surrounding molecules. However, the surface molecules experience a net attractive force downward due to the bulk molecules. The surface of the liquid behaves like a stretched membrane,...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Light-induced self-adaptive growth of photonic crystal structures in perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer films.

Nature communications·2025

Same author

Nanoimprinting Pattern on Responsive Microwrinkles for Dynamic Optical Diffraction and Reflection.

ACS nano·2025

Same author

Nonliving dehydrated leaves-inspired surface anti-wrinkling.

Science advances·2025

Same author

Bioinspired Multifunctional and Dynamic Color-Tuning Photonic Devices.

Chemical reviews·2025

Same author

Visualizing the Sliding Motion of Dynamic Rotaxanes by Surface Wrinkles.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2025

Same author

"All-in-One Functionalization and Synergic Ordering" Strategy Enables Multimode Anti-Counterfeiting Patterns.

ACS applied materials & interfaces·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 12, 2025

Generation of Multicue Cellular Microenvironments by UV-Photopatterning of Three-Dimensional Cell Culture Substrates

Generation of Multicue Cellular Microenvironments by UV-Photopatterning of Three-Dimensional Cell Culture Substrates

Published on: June 2, 2022

Light-driven dynamic surface wrinkles for adaptive visible camouflage.

Tianjiao Ma¹, Jing Bai¹, Tiantian Li¹

¹School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory for Metal Matrix Composite Materials, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.

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

|November 23, 2021

Summary

Researchers developed adaptive camouflage using light-driven surface wrinkles. This novel material can dynamically change its appearance to blend with surroundings, offering a new approach to visible camouflage technology.

Keywords:

adaptive visible camouflage dynamic wrinkles in situ dynamic characteristics multiwavelength light responsiveness passive control

More Related Videos

Fabrication and Characterization of a Conformal Skin-like Electronic System for Quantitative, Cutaneous Wound Management

Fabrication and Characterization of a Conformal Skin-like Electronic System for Quantitative, Cutaneous Wound Management

Published on: September 2, 2015

Generation of a Simplified Three-Dimensional Skin-on-a-chip Model in a Micromachined Microfluidic Platform

Generation of a Simplified Three-Dimensional Skin-on-a-chip Model in a Micromachined Microfluidic Platform

Published on: May 17, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 12, 2025

Generation of Multicue Cellular Microenvironments by UV-Photopatterning of Three-Dimensional Cell Culture Substrates

Generation of Multicue Cellular Microenvironments by UV-Photopatterning of Three-Dimensional Cell Culture Substrates

Published on: June 2, 2022

Fabrication and Characterization of a Conformal Skin-like Electronic System for Quantitative, Cutaneous Wound Management

Fabrication and Characterization of a Conformal Skin-like Electronic System for Quantitative, Cutaneous Wound Management

Published on: September 2, 2015

Generation of a Simplified Three-Dimensional Skin-on-a-chip Model in a Micromachined Microfluidic Platform

Generation of a Simplified Three-Dimensional Skin-on-a-chip Model in a Micromachined Microfluidic Platform

Published on: May 17, 2021

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Optics
Engineering

Background:

Adaptive camouflage is crucial in nature, engineering, and military applications.
Dynamic surface wrinkles offer a potential method for on-demand control of optical signals for camouflage.
Existing camouflage methods often lack dynamic adaptability or require external stimuli.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate a feasible strategy for adaptive visible camouflage using light-driven dynamic surface wrinkles.
To explore the use of a bilayer system for tunable optical properties and camouflage.
To develop a camouflage system that can switch between exposed and blended states.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of a bilayer system consisting of an anthracene-containing copolymer (PAN) and pigment-PDMS.
Utilizing the photothermal effect of pigment-PDMS to induce thermal expansion and eliminate wrinkles.
Investigating multiwavelength light-driven dynamic wrinkling to tune light scattering and interference color visibility.

Main Results:

The bilayer system successfully demonstrated light-driven dynamic surface wrinkles.
The photothermal effect enabled on-demand elimination of wrinkles, controlling the optical signal.
The system achieved a switchable camouflage effect, allowing the material to mimic its background or become conspicuous.

Conclusions:

The developed bilayer wrinkling system provides a simple, versatile, and in situ method for adaptive visible camouflage.
This approach offers dynamic control over optical properties without external sensors or additional stimuli.
The technology presents a promising alternative for advanced camouflage applications.