Japanese Physicists Create 10,000-Particle System Defying Newton's Third Law for 1 Hour
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Aug 11
Japanese Physicists Create 10,000-Particle System Defying Newton's Third Law for 1 Hour
3 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Aug 11
Summary
More than 10,000 colloidal particles in water broke Newton’s action-reaction symmetry for about an hour in a lab system reported in Physical Review Letters.
An alternating electric field drove larger particles to generate stronger electrical flow, pulling in smaller ones and creating paired units that effectively chased each other through the liquid.
Mixed-size particles clustered and split repeatedly instead of settling into permanent clumps, while single-size suspensions kept reciprocal interactions and gradually crystallized.
The team said the mechanism could help explain collective motion in cell colonies or animal groups and guide programmable materials or microrobotic systems.