Physics in Action: From Magic to Ecosystems

Liquid crystals are all around us, not only in devices such as flat screen displays, smart windows and augmented reality goggles, but also in nature – in butterfly wings, plant tissues such as wood, cotton fibers and fruit skins, and in the soft matter in our bodies, such as cell membranes, DNA, tendons, cornea and skin. As a physicist, I have studied liquid crystals for most of my career and have found it to be an endlessly intriguing journey. In this short talk, I will show some demonstrations to illustrate the surprising connection between physics and magic.

The Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) connects the Mississippi River Basin with the Great Lake Basin by a series of canals.  An aquatic electric barrier was built in the CAWS to prevent the passage of the Asian Carp, an invasive species into the Great Lakes Basin.  We build a laboratory-sized electric barrier that mimics the CAWS electric barrier to study the effects of this barrier on other invasive species, including crayfish, other crustaceans and mollusks, observing their behavior response and their tendency to orient themselves perpendicular to the electric field.