| Defect Propelled Swimming of Nematic Colloids |
| Kathleen Stebe, University of Pennsylvania |
| Event Type: Physics Dept Colloquium |
|
| Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM |
|
| Location: 726 Broadway, 940, CCPP Seminar |
|
| Abstract: We have been studying active colloids in nematic liquid crystals as microrobots for materials manipulation. Colloid shape and surface chemistry can generate long-ranged emergent interactions in quasi-static settings. Furthermore, the non-linear response of the nematic fluid host allows interactions that differ strikingly in range and form from their static counterparts. Colloid dynamic displacement can introduce defects whose dynamics generate new modalities of motion and interaction. These interactions provide a rich toolkit for assembly and open important fundamental questions regarding swimming at low Reynolds number in a nematic, and the roles of broken symmetry, elastic energy storage and far from equilibrium topological defects. |