Understanding the dynamics of granular materials—such as sand flowing through an hourglass or salt pouring through a shaker—is a major unsolved problem in physics. A new paper describes a pattern for ...

Granular matter is all around us. Examples include sand, rice, nuts, coffee and even snow. These materials are made of solid particles that are large enough not to experience thermal fluctuations.

Examples of granular matter: multicolored plastic balls in a playground, gravel, sesame seeds and lentils (clockwise from top left). Images by Julia Kertesz, Martin Olsson, Jitender Kumar and Zyance ...

When we take a stroll on the beach, we walk on the sand without any trouble. The sand appears solid and is difficult to compress. When we put the same sand grains in an hourglass, they behave very ...

Understanding the way a wave moves through granular materials—after an earthquake, for example—has vast implications for modern science. After all, scientists use stress wave propagation through ...

Editor’s note: The following research is among the many talks that scientists from UChicago and its affiliated laboratories will present Feb. 13-17 at the annual meeting of the American Association ...