New approach to form non-equilibrium structures

Science Focus

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Although most natural and synthetic processes prefer to settle into equilibrium—a state of unchanging balance without potential or energy—it is within the realm of non-equilibrium conditions where new possibilities lie. Non-equilibrium systems experience constant changes in energy and phases, such as temperature fluctuations, freezing and melting, or movement. These conditions allow humans to regulate their body temperature, airplanes to fly, and the Earth to rumble with seismic activity.  But even though these conditions exist naturally and are required for the most basic life, they are rarely understood and difficult to find in synthetic materials. “In equilibrium thermodynamics, we know everything,” said Northwestern’s Igal Szleifer. “Non-equilibrium thermodynamics is an old subject, but we don’t have a complete set of rules for it. There are no guidelines.” Igal Szleifer     Szleifer is the Christina Enroth-Cugell Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of chemical and biological engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, professor of chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Science, and professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine.   Szleifer, his postdoctoral fellow Mario Tagliazucchi, and Emily Weiss, the Irving M. Klotz Research Professor of Chemistry at Weinberg, have developed a new technique for

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