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A detailed ab initio model of ferroelectric ordering in thin films shows that phase transitions and ferroelectric bistability occur down to diameters of 3.2 nm in nanodisks and nanorods. Unexpected circular or toroidal ordering of dipoles describes the low-temperature ground state, rather than conventional parallel or antiparallel atomic displacements.
The engineering performance of materials is controlled to a large extent by their elastic stress/strain response. The first X-ray strain measurements in amorphous metals allow for new understanding of complex glassy materials.
The optical properties of lyotropic liquid crystals formed by a multilayer stack of lipid membranes have attracted growing interest owing to their potential use in photonics. A new study demonstrates unprecedented dynamic control over the order of such systems
