Arezki Amiri Published on May 18, 2025
Collected at: https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/05/a-massachusetts-student-accidentally-broke-the-laws-of-thermodynamics/
In a surprising twist from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a team of physicists has discovered a novel liquid behavior that seems to challenge fundamental principles of thermodynamics. The breakthrough centers on how magnetic particles interfere with emulsification—the process that typically allows immiscible liquids like oil and water to mix under certain conditions. Published in Nature Physics, the study documents a phenomenon that researchers describe as a “shape-recovering liquid,” something never before observed in the field of soft-matter physics.
A Student’s Experiment Sparks New Questions
The discovery began in a lab at UMass Amherst when Anthony Raykh, a physics graduate student, attempted to create an emulsified mixture of oil and water using magnetized nickel particles. He was exploring how magnetic materials could be used to engineer new types of fluids. But what happened next defied expectations. No matter how vigorously the mixture was shaken, instead of blending, the two liquids would repeatedly separate and settle into a distinct, curved formation resembling a Grecian urn.
Puzzled by the result, Raykh consulted with his faculty mentors in the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering. “I thought ‘what is this thing?’” he said. “So, I walked up and down the halls… asking them if they knew what was going on.” None of the professors could offer a clear explanation at first. Eventually, two senior researchers, Thomas Russell and David Hoagland, recognized the behavior as a potential breakthrough and began to investigate further.
Strong Magnetism Overrides Emulsification
Emulsification is governed by thermodynamic laws that describe how substances interact at interfaces, like the boundary between oil and water. Normally, when tiny particles are added to an oil-water mixture, they reduce surface tension and help the two liquids blend temporarily. This principle is used in everything from food products to industrial materials. But in this case, the strongly magnetized nickel particles seemed to have the opposite effect.
According to Hoagland, a professor specializing in soft materials, the magnetic strength of the particles was enough to increase interfacial tension, bending the boundary between the liquids instead of breaking it down. “You can get extremely detailed information on how different forms assemble,” Hoagland explained, noting that the arrangement of nanoparticles under magnetic force led to the formation of the urn shape. This arrangement prevented traditional emulsification, appearing to circumvent the rules outlined by thermodynamic theory.
Collaboration Strengthens the Findings
To verify the strange behavior, the UMass Amherst team collaborated with researchers from Tufts University and Syracuse University. Using simulations and detailed modeling, the multi-institutional team confirmed that the magnetic forces at play were indeed capable of reorganizing the fluid interface in an entirely unexpected way. The effect was consistent—each time the mixture was shaken, the urn shape reappeared with remarkable precision.
“This mixture formed this beautiful, pristine urn-shape,” said Raykh. The fact that the shape returned after every disturbance signaled that the system was finding a stable equilibrium—just not the kind predicted by standard physics. According to the researchers, this kind of self-reorganizing behavior represents a never-before-seen state in liquid mixtures, and it opens new possibilities in understanding how external forces like magnetism can affect material properties.
New Frontiers in Soft-Matter Physics
The study has no immediate practical applications, but its implications for the field of soft-matter physics are significant. Thomas Russell, a Silvio O. Conte Distinguished Professor of Polymer Science and Engineering at UMass Amherst, emphasized the importance of exploring anomalies in scientific systems. “When you see something that shouldn’t be possible, you have to investigate,” he said.
Backed by funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, the project reflects a growing interest in how magnetic manipulation can lead to new forms of self-assembling materials. As the research continues, the findings may contribute to future innovations in smart fluids, programmable materials, or magnetically driven systems—though for now, the urn-shaped liquid remains a scientific curiosity that challenges what we thought we knew.
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