Related papers: Light-induced swirling and locomotion
The control of light by light is one of the main aims in modern photonics. In this context, a fundamental cornerstone is the realization of light-written waveguides in real time, resulting in all-optical reconfigurability of communication…
Many microorganisms and artificial microswimmers use helical appendages in order to generate locomotion. Though often rotated so as to produce thrust, some species of bacteria such Spiroplasma, Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Spirochetes induce…
The motion of flexible fibers through structured fluidic environments is ubiquitous in nature and industrial applications. Most often, their dynamics results from the complex interplay between internal elastic stresses, contact forces and…
This paper reviews the research work on the liquid crystalline (LC) polymer vesicles (polymersomes), where the thermotropic nematic and smectic phases are displayed in the lyotropic bilayer polymer membrane. LC polymersomes possess the…
Actuating periodically an elastic filament in a viscous liquid generally breaks the constraints of Purcell's scallop theorem, resulting in the generation of a net propulsive force. This observation suggests a method to design simple…
Photomechanical actuation is demonstrated in two coupled liquid crystal elastomer photomechanical optical devices (PODs) acting in series. The response function of an individual POD is characterized and used to predict the temporal response…
An examination of the propagation of intense 200 fs pulses in water reveals light filaments not sustained by the balance between Kerr-induced self-focusing and plasma-induced defocusing. Their appearance is interpreted as the consequence of…
We subject a monodomain cholesteric liquid crystal elastomer to uniaxial strain perpendicular to its helical axis and study the response of its texture to deformation. A combination of mechanical, optical and X-ray scattering measurements…
We present in this fluid dynamics video a novel experimental setup with self-propelled swimmers on a free surface. The swimmers, modeled as flexible thin filaments, are subjected to external electromagnetic forcing driving a propagating…
The room temperature liquid metal is quickly emerging as an important functional material in a variety of areas like chip cooling, 3D printing or printed electronics etc. With diverse capabilities in electrical, thermal and flowing…
Photonic crystal fibres (PCFs) are optical fibres that guide light using a modulated dielectric medium. They provide an exceptionally versatile platform for various applications, thanks to the flexibility with which light-guiding can be…
In the present study we investigate electrostatic stabilization mechanisms acting on stratified fluids. Electric fields have been shown to control and even suppress the Rayleigh-Taylor instability when a heavy fluid lies above lighter…
The dynamics of several light filaments (spatial optical solitons) propagating in an optically nonlinear and non-local random medium is investigated using the paradigms of the physics of complexity. Cluster formation is interpreted as a…
We introduce a system where an elastic lattice of particles is moved slowly at a constant velocity under the influence of a local external potential, construct a rigid-body model through simplification processes, and show that the two…
Recent experiments have demonstrated that in a dense monolayer of photo-switchable dye Methyl-Red molecules the relaxation of an initial birefringence follows a power-law decay, typical for glass-like dynamics. The slow relaxation can…
From hydrogels and plastics to liquid crystals, soft solids cover a wide array of synthetic and biological materials that play key enabling roles in advanced technologies such as 3D printing, soft robotics, wearable electronics,…
We use accurate first principles methods to study the network dynamics of hydrogenated amorphous silicon, including the motion of hydrogen. In addition to studies of atomic dynamics in the electronic ground state, we also adopt a simple…
Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are a type of multifunctional materials with salient features that are very attractive in developing soft, lightweight, and small-scale transducers and robotics. This paper reviews the mechanics of soft DE…
Owing to the possibility of controlling its specific mechanical behaviors up taken by irradiated by light at particular wavelengths, the photoisomerization hydrogels have a broad range of potential applications. A theory connecting the…
Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCE) undergo reversible shape changes in response to stimuli, which may enable a wide range of smart applications, such as soft robot, adhesive systems or implantable medical devices. Here we introduce new…