Team finds order in a process previously assumed to be random
Tuesday, October 18, 2016 - 09:43
in Physics & Chemistry
Scientific discoveries often arise from noticing the unexpected. Such was the case when researchers, studying a tiny device that has become increasingly important in disease diagnostics and drug discovery, observed the surprising way it funneled thousands of water droplets into an orderly single file, squeezing them drop by drop, out the tip of the device. Instead of occurring randomly, the droplets followed a predictable pattern. These observations led the researchers to deduce mathematical rules and understand why such rules exist.