What is it about?
Many systems in nature assemble hierarchically, by first forming smaller units, which assemble into larger units, and so on. We show how to make sticky particles that similarly assemble hierarchically, by choosing interaction strengths to decrease with the scale of the assembling units while maintaining constant total interaction strength across scales.
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Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Little is currently known about how hierarchical assembly may happen spontaneously, without any external forcing, nor how to harness such an assembly mechanism in materials design. Our approach gives insight into the mechanisms required to achieve hierarchical assembly, and constrains where it is effective.
Perspectives
I am amazed at the beauty of hierarchical assembly -- watching it happen spontaneously in simulations is like looking through a kaleidoscope and seeing many scales all at once.
Miranda Holmes-Cerfon
University of British Columbia
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Hierarchical self-assembly for high-yield addressable complexity at fixed conditions, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, October 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2500245122.
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