@article{14514, abstract = {The elastic Leidenfrost effect occurs when a vaporizable soft solid is lowered onto a hot surface. Evaporative flow couples to elastic deformation, giving spontaneous bouncing or steady-state floating. The effect embodies an unexplored interplay between thermodynamics, elasticity, and lubrication: despite being observed, its basic theoretical description remains a challenge. Here, we provide a theory of elastic Leidenfrost floating. As weight increases, a rigid solid sits closer to the hot surface. By contrast, we discover an elasticity-dominated regime where the heavier the solid, the higher it floats. This geometry-governed behavior is reminiscent of the dynamics of large liquid Leidenfrost drops. We show that this elastic regime is characterized by Hertzian behavior of the solid’s underbelly and derive how the float height scales with materials parameters. Introducing a dimensionless elastic Leidenfrost number, we capture the crossover between rigid and Hertzian behavior. Our results provide theoretical underpinning for recent experiments, and point to the design of novel soft machines.}, author = {Binysh, Jack and Chakraborty, Indrajit and Chubynsky, Mykyta V. and Diaz Melian, Vicente L and Waitukaitis, Scott R and Sprittles, James E. and Souslov, Anton}, issn = {1079-7114}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, number = {16}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Modeling Leidenfrost levitation of soft elastic solids}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.168201}, volume = {131}, year = {2023}, } @misc{14523, abstract = {see Readme file}, author = {Binysh, Jack and Chakraborty, Indrajit and Chubynsky, Mykyta and Diaz Melian, Vicente L and Waitukaitis, Scott R and Sprittles, James and Souslov, Anton}, publisher = {Zenodo}, title = {{SouslovLab/PRL2023-ModellingLeidenfrostLevitationofSoftElasticSolids: v1.0.1}}, doi = {10.5281/ZENODO.8329143}, year = {2023}, } @inproceedings{14864, author = {Stöllner, Andrea and Lenton, Isaac C and Muller, Caroline J and Waitukaitis, Scott R}, booktitle = {EGU General Assembly 2023}, location = {Vienna, Austria & Virtual}, publisher = {European Geosciences Union}, title = {{Measuring spontaneous charging of single aerosol particles}}, doi = {10.5194/egusphere-egu23-6166}, year = {2023}, } @article{13197, abstract = {Nominally identical materials exchange net electric charge during contact through a mechanism that is still debated. ‘Mosaic models’, in which surfaces are presumed to consist of a random patchwork of microscopic donor/acceptor sites, offer an appealing explanation for this phenomenon. However, recent experiments have shown that global differences persist even between same-material samples, which the standard mosaic framework does not account for. Here, we expand the mosaic framework by incorporating global differences in the densities of donor/acceptor sites. We develop an analytical model, backed by numerical simulations, that smoothly connects the global and deterministic charge transfer of different materials to the local and stochastic mosaic picture normally associated with identical materials. Going further, we extend our model to explain the effect of contact asymmetries during sliding, providing a plausible explanation for reversal of charging sign that has been observed experimentally.}, author = {Grosjean, Galien M and Waitukaitis, Scott R}, issn = {2475-9953}, journal = {Physical Review Materials}, keywords = {Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous), General Materials Science}, number = {6}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Asymmetries in triboelectric charging: Generalizing mosaic models to different-material samples and sliding contacts}}, doi = {10.1103/physrevmaterials.7.065601}, volume = {7}, year = {2023}, } @article{12697, abstract = {Models for same-material contact electrification in granular media often rely on a local charge-driving parameter whose spatial variations lead to a stochastic origin for charge exchange. Measuring the charge transfer from individual granular spheres after contacts with substrates of the same material, we find instead a “global” charging behavior, coherent over the sample’s whole surface. Cleaning and baking samples fully resets charging magnitude and direction, which indicates the underlying global parameter is not intrinsic to the material, but acquired from its history. Charging behavior is randomly and irreversibly affected by changes in relative humidity, hinting at a mechanism where adsorbates, in particular, water, are fundamental to the charge-transfer process.}, author = {Grosjean, Galien M and Waitukaitis, Scott R}, issn = {1079-7114}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, keywords = {General Physics, Electrostatics, Triboelectricity, Soft Matter, Acoustic Levitation, Granular Materials}, number = {9}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Single-collision statistics reveal a global mechanism driven by sample history for contact electrification in granular media}}, doi = {10.1103/physrevlett.130.098202}, volume = {130}, year = {2023}, } @article{12789, abstract = {Experiments have shown that charge distributions of granular materials are non-Gaussian, with broad tails that indicate many particles with high charge. This observation has consequences for the behavior of granular materials in many settings, and may bear relevance to the underlying charge transfer mechanism. However, there is the unaddressed possibility that broad tails arise due to experimental uncertainties, as determining the shapes of tails is nontrivial. Here we show that measurement uncertainties can indeed account for most of the tail broadening previously observed. The clue that reveals this is that distributions are sensitive to the electric field at which they are measured; ones measured at low (high) fields have larger (smaller) tails. Accounting for sources of uncertainty, we reproduce this broadening in silico. Finally, we use our results to back out the true charge distribution without broadening, which we find is still non-Guassian, though with substantially different behavior at the tails and indicating significantly fewer highly charged particles. These results have implications in many natural settings where electrostatic interactions, especially among highly charged particles, strongly affect granular behavior.}, author = {Mujica, Nicolás and Waitukaitis, Scott R}, issn = {2470-0053}, journal = {Physical Review E}, number = {3}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Accurate determination of the shapes of granular charge distributions}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevE.107.034901}, volume = {107}, year = {2023}, } @article{12109, abstract = {Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is a powerful tool for studying contact electrification (CE) at the nanoscale, but converting KPFM voltage maps to charge density maps is nontrivial due to long-range forces and complex system geometry. Here we present a strategy using finite-element method (FEM) simulations to determine the Green's function of the KPFM probe/insulator/ground system, which allows us to quantitatively extract surface charge. Testing our approach with synthetic data, we find that accounting for the atomic force microscope (AFM) tip, cone, and cantilever is necessary to recover a known input and that existing methods lead to gross miscalculation or even the incorrect sign of the underlying charge. Applying it to experimental data, we demonstrate its capacity to extract realistic surface charge densities and fine details from contact-charged surfaces. Our method gives a straightforward recipe to convert qualitative KPFM voltage data into quantitative charge data over a range of experimental conditions, enabling quantitative CE at the nanoscale.}, author = {Pertl, Felix and Sobarzo Ponce, Juan Carlos A and Shafeek, Lubuna B and Cramer, Tobias and Waitukaitis, Scott R}, issn = {2475-9953}, journal = {Physical Review Materials}, number = {12}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Quantifying nanoscale charge density features of contact-charged surfaces with an FEM/KPFM-hybrid approach}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.6.125605}, volume = {6}, year = {2022}, } @article{8101, abstract = {By rigorously accounting for mesoscale spatial correlations in donor/acceptor surface properties, we develop a scale-spanning model for same-material tribocharging. We find that mesoscale correlations affect not only the magnitude of charge transfer but also the fluctuations—suppressing otherwise overwhelming charge-transfer variability that is not observed experimentally. We furthermore propose a generic theoretical mechanism by which the mesoscale features might emerge, which is qualitatively consistent with other proposals in the literature.}, author = {Grosjean, Galien M and Wald, Sebastian and Sobarzo Ponce, Juan Carlos A and Waitukaitis, Scott R}, issn = {2475-9953}, journal = {Physical Review Materials}, keywords = {electric charge, tribocharging, soft matter, granular materials, polymers}, number = {8}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Quantitatively consistent scale-spanning model for same-material tribocharging}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.4.082602}, volume = {4}, year = {2020}, } @article{6976, abstract = {Origami is rapidly transforming the design of robots1,2, deployable structures3,4,5,6 and metamaterials7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14. However, as foldability requires a large number of complex compatibility conditions that are difficult to satisfy, the design of crease patterns is limited to heuristics and computer optimization. Here we introduce a systematic strategy that enables intuitive and effective design of complex crease patterns that are guaranteed to fold. First, we exploit symmetries to construct 140 distinct foldable motifs, and represent these as jigsaw puzzle pieces. We then show that when these pieces are fitted together they encode foldable crease patterns. This maps origami design to solving combinatorial problems, which allows us to systematically create, count and classify a vast number of crease patterns. We show that all of these crease patterns are pluripotent—capable of folding into multiple shapes—and solve exactly for the number of possible shapes for each pattern. Finally, we employ our framework to rationally design a crease pattern that folds into two independently defined target shapes, and fabricate such pluripotent origami. Our results provide physicists, mathematicians and engineers with a powerful new design strategy.}, author = {Dieleman, Peter and Vasmel, Niek and Waitukaitis, Scott R and van Hecke, Martin}, issn = {1745-2481}, journal = {Nature Physics}, number = {1}, pages = {63–68}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Jigsaw puzzle design of pluripotent origami}}, doi = {10.1038/s41567-019-0677-3}, volume = {16}, year = {2020}, } @article{6763, abstract = {When grape-sized aqueous dimers are irradiated in a microwave oven, an intense electromagnetic hotspot forms at their point of contact, often igniting a plasma. Here we show that this irradiation can result in the injection of mechanical energy. By examining irradiated hydrogel dimers through high-speed imaging, we find that they repeatedly bounce off of each other while irradiated. We determine that an average of 1 lJ of mechanical energy is injected into the pair during each collision. Furthermore, a characteristic high-pitched audio signal is found to accompany each collision. We show that both the audio signal and the energy injection arise via an interplay between vaporization and elastic deformations in the region of contact, the so-called ‘elastic Liedenfrost effect’. Our results establish a novel, non-contact method of injecting mechanical energy into soft matter systems, suggesting application in fields such as soft robotics.}, author = {Khattak, Hamza K. and Waitukaitis, Scott R and Slepkov, Aaron D.}, issn = {17446848}, journal = {Soft Matter}, number = {29}, pages = {5804--5809}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, title = {{Microwave induced mechanical activation of hydrogel dimers}}, doi = {10.1039/c9sm00756c}, volume = {15}, year = {2019}, } @article{95, abstract = {Electrostatic charging of insulating fine particles can be responsible for numerous phenomena ranging from lightning in volcanic plumes to dust explosions. However, even basic aspects of how fine particles become charged are still unclear. Studying particle charging is challenging because it usually involves the complexities associated with many-particle collisions. To address these issues, we introduce a method based on acoustic levitation, which makes it possible to initiate sequences of repeated collisions of a single submillimeter particle with a flat plate, and to precisely measure the particle charge in situ after each collision. We show that collisional charge transfer between insulators is dependent on the hydrophobicity of the contacting surfaces. We use glass, which we modify by attaching nonpolar molecules to the particle, the plate, or both. We find that hydrophilic surfaces develop significant positive charges after contacting hydrophobic surfaces. Moreover, we demonstrate that charging between a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic surface is suppressed in an acidic environment and enhanced in a basic one. Application of an electric field during each collision is found to modify the charge transfer, again depending on surface hydrophobicity. We discuss these results within the context of contact charging due to ion transfer, and we show that they lend strong support to OH− ions as the charge carriers.}, author = {Lee, Victor and James, Nicole and Waitukaitis, Scott R and Jaeger, Heinrich}, journal = {Physical Review Materials}, number = {3}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Collisional charging of individual submillimeter particles: Using ultrasonic levitation to initiate and track charge transfer}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.2.035602}, volume = {2}, year = {2018}, } @article{124, abstract = {By investigating the in situ chemical and O-isotope compositions of olivine in lightly sintered dust agglomerates from the early Solar System, we constrain their origins and the retention of dust in the protoplanetary disk. The grain sizes of silicates in these agglomeratic olivine (AO) chondrules indicate that the grain sizes of chondrule precursors in the Renazzo-like carbonaceous (CR) chondrites ranged from <1 to 80 µm. We infer this grain size range to be equivalent to the size range for dust in the early Solar System. AO chondrules may contain, but are not solely composed of, recycled fragments of earlier formed chondrules. They also contain 16O-rich olivine related to amoeboid olivine aggregates and represent the best record of chondrule-precursor materials. AO chondrules contain one or more large grains, sometimes similar to FeO-poor (type I) and/or FeO-rich (type II) chondrules, while others contain a type II chondrule core. These morphologies are consistent with particle agglomeration by electrostatic charging of grains during collision, a process that may explain solid agglomeration in the protoplanetary disk in the micrometer size regime. The petrographic, isotopic, and chemical compositions of AO chondrules are consistent with chondrule formation by large-scale shocks, bow shocks, and current sheets. The petrographic, isotopic, and chemical similarities between AO chondrules in CR chondrites and chondrule-like objects from comet 81P/Wild 2 indicate that comets contain AO chondrules. We infer that these AO chondrules likely formed in the inner Solar System and migrated to the comet forming region at least 3 Ma after the formation of the first Solar System solids. Observations made in this study imply that the protoplanetary disk retained a dusty disk at least ∼3.7 Ma after the formation of the first Solar System solids, longer than half of the dusty accretion disks observed around other stars.}, author = {Waitukaitis, Scott R and Schrader, Devin and Nagashima, Kazuhide and Davidson, Jemma and Mccoy, Timothy and Conolly Jr, Harold and Lauretta, Dante}, journal = {Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta}, pages = {405 -- 421}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{The retention of dust in protoplanetary disks: evidence from agglomeration olivine chondrules from the outer solar system}}, doi = {10.1016/j.gca.2017.12.014}, volume = {223}, year = {2018}, } @article{125, abstract = {Many fields of study, including medical imaging, granular physics, colloidal physics, and active matter, require the precise identification and tracking of particle-like objects in images. While many algorithms exist to track particles in diffuse conditions, these often perform poorly when particles are densely packed together—as in, for example, solid-like systems of granular materials. Incorrect particle identification can have significant effects on the calculation of physical quantities, which makes the development of more precise and faster tracking algorithms a worthwhile endeavor. In this work, we present a new tracking algorithm to identify particles in dense systems that is both highly accurate and fast. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach by analyzing images of dense, solid-state granular media, where we achieve an identification error of 5% in the worst evaluated cases. Going further, we propose a parallelization strategy for our algorithm using a GPU, which results in a speedup of up to 10× when compared to a sequential CPU implementation in C and up to 40× when compared to the reference MATLAB library widely used for particle tracking. Our results extend the capabilities of state-of-the-art particle tracking methods by allowing fast, high-fidelity detection in dense media at high resolutions.}, author = {Cerda, Mauricio and Waitukaitis, Scott R and Navarro, Cristóbal and Silva, Juan and Mujica, Nicolás and Hitschfeld, Nancy}, journal = {Computer Physics Communications}, pages = {8 -- 16}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{A high-speed tracking algorithm for dense granular media}}, doi = {10.1016/j.cpc.2018.02.010}, volume = {227}, year = {2018}, } @article{126, abstract = {The Leidenfrost effect occurs when a liquid or stiff sublimable solid near a hot surface creates enough vapor beneath it to lift itself up and float. In contrast, vaporizable soft solids, e.g., hydrogels, have been shown to exhibit persistent bouncing - the elastic Leidenfrost effect. By carefully lowering hydrogel spheres towards a hot surface, we discover that they are also capable of floating. The bounce-to-float transition is controlled by the approach velocity and temperature, analogously to the "dynamic Leidenfrost effect." For the floating regime, we measure power-law scalings for the gap geometry, which we explain with a model that couples the vaporization rate to the spherical shape. Our results reveal that hydrogels are a promising pathway for controlling floating Leidenfrost objects through shape.}, author = {Waitukaitis, Scott R and Harth, Kirsten and Van Hecke, Martin}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, number = {4}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{From bouncing to floating: the Leidenfrost effect with hydrogel spheres}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.048001}, volume = {121}, year = {2018}, } @article{127, abstract = {The ideas of topology are breaking ground in origami-based metamaterials. Experiments now show that certain shapes — doughnuts included — exhibit topological bistability, and can be made to click between different topologically stable states.}, author = {Waitukaitis, Scott R}, journal = {Nature Physics}, number = {8}, pages = {777 -- 778}, publisher = {Nature Publishing Group}, title = {{Clicks for doughnuts}}, doi = {10.1038/s41567-018-0160-6}, volume = {14}, year = {2018}, } @article{123, abstract = {The Leidenfrost effect occurs when an object near a hot surface vaporizes rapidly enough to lift itself up and hover. Although well understood for liquids and stiff sublimable solids, nothing is known about the effect with materials whose stiffness lies between these extremes. Here we introduce a new phenomenon that occurs with vaporizable soft solids - the elastic Leidenfrost effect. By dropping hydrogel spheres onto hot surfaces we find that, rather than hovering, they energetically bounce several times their diameter for minutes at a time. With high-speed video during a single impact, we uncover high-frequency microscopic gap dynamics at the sphere/substrate interface. We show how these otherwise-hidden agitations constitute work cycles that harvest mechanical energy from the vapour and sustain the bouncing. Our findings suggest a new strategy for injecting mechanical energy into a widely used class of soft materials, with potential relevance to fields such as active matter, soft robotics and microfluidics.}, author = {Waitukaitis, Scott R and Zuiderwijk, Antal and Souslov, Anton and Coulais, Corentin and Van Hecke, Martin}, journal = {Nature Physics}, number = {11}, pages = {1095 -- 1099}, publisher = {Nature Publishing Group}, title = {{Coupling the Leidenfrost effect and elastic deformations to power sustained bouncing}}, doi = {10.1038/nphys4194}, volume = {13}, year = {2017}, } @article{122, abstract = {Four rigid panels connected by hinges that meet at a point form a four-vertex, the fundamental building block of origami metamaterials. Most materials designed so far are based on the same four-vertex geometry, and little is known regarding how different geometries affect folding behavior. Here we systematically categorize and analyze the geometries and resulting folding motions of Euclidean four-vertices. Comparing the relative sizes of sector angles, we identify three types of generic vertices and two accompanying subtypes. We determine which folds can fully close and the possible mountain-valley assignments. Next, we consider what occurs when sector angles or sums thereof are set equal, which results in 16 special vertex types. One of these, flat-foldable vertices, has been studied extensively, but we show that a wide variety of qualitatively different folding motions exist for the other 15 special and 3 generic types. Our work establishes a straightforward set of rules for understanding the folding motion of both generic and special four-vertices and serves as a roadmap for designing origami metamaterials.}, author = {Waitukaitis, Scott R and Van Hecke, Martin}, journal = {Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Physiological Society}, title = {{Origami building blocks: Generic and special four-vertices}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevE.93.023003}, volume = {93}, year = {2016}, } @article{120, abstract = {Clustering of fine particles is of crucial importance in settings ranging from the early stages of planet formation to the coagulation of industrial powders and airborne pollutants. Models of such clustering typically focus on inelastic deformation and cohesion. However, even in charge-neutral particle systems comprising grains of the same dielectric material, tribocharging can generate large amounts of net positive or negative charge on individual particles, resulting in long-range electrostatic forces. The effects of such forces on cluster formation are not well understood and have so far not been studied in situ. Here we report the first observations of individual collide-and-capture events between charged submillimetre particles, including Kepler-like orbits. Charged particles can become trapped in their mutual electrostatic energy well and aggregate via multiple bounces. This enables the initiation of clustering at relative velocities much larger than the upper limit for sticking after a head-on collision, a long-standing issue known from pre-planetary dust aggregation. Moreover, Coulomb interactions together with dielectric polarization are found to stabilize characteristic molecule-like configurations, providing new insights for the modelling of clustering dynamics in a wide range of microscopic dielectric systems, such as charged polarizable ions, biomolecules and colloids.}, author = {Lee, Victor and Waitukaitis, Scott R and Miskin, Marc and Jaeger, Heinrich}, journal = {Nature Physics}, number = {9}, pages = {733 -- 737}, publisher = {Nature Publishing Group}, title = {{Direct observation of particle interactions and clustering in charged granular streams}}, doi = {10.1038/nphys3396}, volume = {11}, year = {2015}, } @article{121, abstract = {We show that the simplest building blocks of origami-based materials - rigid, degree-four vertices - are generically multistable. The existence of two distinct branches of folding motion emerging from the flat state suggests at least bistability, but we show how nonlinearities in the folding motions allow generic vertex geometries to have as many as five stable states. In special geometries with collinear folds and symmetry, more branches emerge leading to as many as six stable states. Tuning the fold energy parameters, we show how monostability is also possible. Finally, we show how to program the stability features of a single vertex into a periodic fold tessellation. The resulting metasheets provide a previously unanticipated functionality - tunable and switchable shape and size via multistability.}, author = {Waitukaitis, Scott R and Menaut, Rémi and Chen, Bryan and Van Hecke, Martin}, journal = {APS Physics, Physical Review Letters}, number = {5}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Origami multistability: From single vertices to metasheets}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.055503}, volume = {114}, year = {2015}, } @article{118, abstract = {While the penetration of objects into granular media is well-studied, there is little understanding of how objects settle in gravities, geff, different from that of Earth - a scenario potentially relevant to the geomorphology of planets and asteroids and also to their exploration using man-made devices. By conducting experiments in an accelerating frame, we explore geff ranging from 0.4 g to 1.2 g. Surprisingly, we find that the rest depth is independent of geff and also that the time required for the object to come to rest scales like geff-1/2. With discrete element modeling simulations, we reproduce the experimental results and extend the range of geff to objects as small as asteroids and as large as Jupiter. Our results shed light on the initial stage of sedimentation into dry granular media across a range of celestial bodies and also have implications for the design of man-made, extraterrestrial vehicles and structures. Key Points The settling depth in granular media is independent of gravity The settling time scales like g-1/2 Layering driven by granular sedimentation should be similar.}, author = {Altshuler, Ernesto and Torres, H and González_Pita, A and Sánchez, Colina G and Pérez Penichet, Carlos and Waitukaitis, Scott R and Hidalgo, Rauól}, journal = {Geophysical Research Letters}, number = {9}, pages = {3032 -- 3037}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, title = {{Settling into dry granular media in different gravities}}, doi = {10.1002/2014GL059229}, volume = {41}, year = {2014}, }