How Is Soft Condensed Matter Research Relevant to NASA and Agriculture?

Presenter: Manju Bangalore

Faculty Mentor: Eric Corwin

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Physics, Math

Granular materials are ubiquitous in nature. Depending on the thermal and physical conditions, they are capable of acting like a solid or a liquid. A jammed granular system occurs at a critical particle concentration at which
the particles can no longer be rearranged by an external force. Oil droplets in oil-in-water emulsion can serve as a simplified model for the jamming of granular materials. The purpose of our project in Dr. Eric Corwin’s lab is to study force networks in granular systems and how individual particles perturb the packingese systems can benefit industries as diverse as agriculture and space exploration.

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