Morris’ lab received plenty of attention this year, first for research on theories of icicle formation and then for a “Supernova in a Jar.” Flying under the radar was MacDonald’s as-yet-unpublished work on nails, which shows them collectively transformed in a way typically seen when heat transforms crystal to liquid.

By shaking the bed of nails, “we ‘melt’ it,” wrote Morris in an email.

The observations represent an early research stage, with fuller investigations to come. “The emergence of collective behavior is exactly the point of the experiment,” wrote Morris. The experiment also hints at a non-scientific truth, articulated by mathematician Henri Poincaré and epigraphed on Morris’ website:

“The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful,” wrote Poincaré.

Video: T. Lynn MacDonald.

See Also:

• Video: The Different Shapes of Iciclology
• Complexity Theory Takes Evolution to Another Level
• Earth’s Most Stunning Natural Fractal Patterns
• Mystery of Honeycomb Cloud Formation Solved
• Baffling Patterns Form in Scientific Sandbox
• Grains of Sand Reveal Possible Fifth State of Matter

Citation: “Pattern Formation in Vertically Vibrated Nails,” by T. Lynn MacDonald. Unpublished, available online (pdf).

Authors: Brandon Keim

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