Nanomotors
This type of motion at the nanoscale results from random collisions of solvent molecules and is described by the Stokes-Einstein equation.
What is Brownian motion?
This thermoresponsive material class exhibits a transition from a deformed state to a pre-programmed configuration upon reaching its glass transition temperature, enabling shape reconfiguration in soft robotic devices.
What are shape memory polymers?
At low Reynolds numbers, this type of symmetry is broken to enable locomotion, since back-and-forth motion is ineffective.
What is time-reversal symmetry?
This material merges the elasticity of polymers with the directional ordering of liquid crystals to create shape-morphing soft robotic components.
What is a liquid crystal elastomer?
This propulsion mechanism uses the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to produce bubbles that propel a tube.
What is bubble propulsion?
This hydrogel is used in soft actuators and responds to temperature changes.
What is poly(N-isopropylacrylamid) pNIPAM?
This type of emulsion, named after a scientist, uses solid particles rather than surfactants to maintain stability between two immiscible phases.
What is a Pickering emulsion?
In this liquid crystal phase, molecules are arranged in well-defined layers and oriented perpendicular to the layer planes with no tilt.
What is the Smectic A (SmA) phase?
When the characteristic time interval Δt is much less than the rotational diffusion time τR, the motion of nanoparticles is classified this way.
What is directed motion?