Foams & Complex Systems Group
Our research concerns the physics of foams, general packing problems, and topics in econo- and sociophysics.
News

Award for Kym Cox
Kym Cox's photograph of the Life Cycle of Soap Bubble Iridescence has been names the winner of the Man-Made category of the Close-up Photographer of the Year 2020 (Cupoty 02) competition. The photos were taken as part of an Art+Science collaboration with Prof. Stefan Hutzler.

Physics in the pandemic: ‘There are some great experiments that can be done safely and simply at home’
In part of a series on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the personal and professional lives of physicists around the world, Ali Irannezhad spoke to Physics World about simple experiments that can be performed at home.

A simple experimental system to illustrate the nonlinear properties of a linear chain under compression
A photograph of a buckled linear chain of soap bubbles, together with the corresponding computer simulation, features on the cover of the American Journal of Physics, May 2020. The article by members of the TCD Foams and Complex Systems group describes a simple experimental set-up for the exploration of the nonlinear properties of a chain of spheres under compression. Related structures feature also in colloids or laser-cooled ions in Penning traps.
Ten most recent publications
- Hutzler S, F. F. Dunne, A. M. Kraynik and D. Weaire (2020), The energy of fcc and hcp foams, Soft Matter 16 8262-8271
- Hutzler S, Mughal A, Ryan-Purcell J, Irannezhad A, Weaire D (2020), Buckling of a linear chain of hard spheres in a harmonic confining potential: Numerical and analytical results for low and high compression, PRE102 022905
- Weaire D, Irannezhad A, Mughal A, Hutzler S (2020), A simple experimental system to illustrate the nonlinear properties of a linear chain under compression, American Journal of Physics 347 88
- Winkelmann J, Mughal A, Weaire D, Hutzler S, (2020), Equilibrium configurations of hard spheres in a cylindrical harmonic potential, EPL 127 44002
- Bois A, Garcia-Roger EM, Hong E, Hutzler S, Irannezhad A, Mannioui A, Richmond P, Roehner BM, Tronche S (2019), Congenital anomalies from a physics perspective. The key role of ‘‘manufacturing’’ volatility, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 537 122742
- Bois A, Garcia-Roger EM, Hong E, Hutzler S, Irannezhad A, Mannioui A, Richmond P, Roehner BM, Tronche S (2019), Infant mortality across species. A global probe of congenital abnormalities, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 535 122308
- Dunne FF, Winkelmann J, Weaire D, Hutzler S (2019), Implementation of Morse–Witten theory for a polydisperse wet 2D foam simulation, Philosophical Magazine 99 2303–2320
- Winkelmann J, Mughal A Williams DB, Weaire D, Hutzler S (2019), Theory of rotational columnar structures of soft spheres, Rapid Comm Phys Rev E 99 020602(R)
- Burke SR, Möbius ME, Hjelt T, Hutzler S (2019), Properties of lightweight fibrous structures made by a novel foam forming technique, Cellulose 4 2529-2539
- Richmond P, Roehner BM, Wang Q-h (2019), The physics of large-scale food crises, Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 522 274-293
Selection of Books
Tomás Saraceno: Cloud — Specific by Meredith Malone.
This book includes an interview with Denis Weaire and many images of foam structures taken by the group
View on Amazon