Lecture on ‘Exciting Physics of Active Matter’ held at UoH

Hyderabad: Professor Ajay K Sood, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, delivered a lecture on ‘Exciting Physics of Active Matter Inspired by Nature’ at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Monday.

The lecture brought out how nature inspires us to explore fascinating phenomena like flocking, a self-organised motion of vast numbers individuals of same species in same direction.

This is a common behavior seen in many animals like ants, locusts, birds and fishes. Prof Sood said, “As a physicist, I along with my colleagues have tried to understand the beautiful phenomenon in the laboratory by working with inanimate polar granular objects made active by placing them on rapidly vibrating surface amongst spherical beads”.

He said “The conventional macroscopic heat engine, a device to convert thermal energy to mechanical energy, is a triumph of our understanding of classical thermodynamics over the last three centuries”.

“Our experiments bring out a message towards the fundamental insights into the functioning of engines operating out of equilibrium, concluded Prof Sood. The professor has made outstanding contributions in both hard- and soft-condensed matter that are profound in terms of experimental discovery as well as theoretical understanding.

He has developed some of the finest experimental techniques, applied them to discover many fascinating natural phenomena, and used them to design sensitive devices for practical applications.