From ink to optics, study of particle mixtures yields fundamental insights

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Princeton chemical engineers accurately represented colloidal systems using a maximum of four colloidal particles shown here in blue and their oppositely charged counterparts called counterions shown here in red. Credit: Athanassios Panagiotopoulos
Princeton chemical engineers accurately represented colloidal systems using a maximum of four colloidal particles, shown here in blue, and their oppositely charged counterparts, called counterions, shown here in red. Credit: Athanassios Panagiotopoulos

Since the invention of ink over 3,000 years ago, people have exploited the unique properties of colloids, in which particles of one substance are suspended in another. Now, Princeton University chemical engineers have answered a fundamental question about these mixtures in work that may have wide-ranging practical applications, including the manufacturing of medicines and optical fibers.


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