A team led by The University of Tokyo developed a new method for understanding the structural organization of disordered collections of soft discs or spheres using a new approach: putting a focus on local mechanical properties that is fundamentally different from previous approaches to ordered crystals and disordered amorphous solids. In particular, the researchers focused packings resulted from the phenomenon of "jamming," in which a free-flowing substance suddenly clogs as the density increases. The work may help with the design of more efficient industrial materials that are less likely to breakdown under external load.
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