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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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A distinguishing feature of many living systems is their ability to move, to self-propel—to be active. Through their motion living systems are able self-assemble: birds flock, fish school, bacteria swarm, etc. But such behavior is not limited to living systems. Recent advances in colloid chemistry have led to the development of synthetic, nonliving particles that are able to undergo autonomous motion by converting chemical energy into mechanical motion and work—chemical swimming.
This swimming or intrinsic activity imparts new behaviors to active matter that distinguish it from equilibrium systems. Active matter generates its own internal pressure (or stress), which can drive it far from equilibrium, and by so doing active matter can control and direct its own behavior and that of its surroundings.
In this talk I will discuss our recent work on active matter and on the origin of a new source of stress that is responsible for self-assembly and pattern formation in active matter systems.
