The basic physics principle 'like forces repel each other' is no longer true?

Researchers from the chemistry department of the University of Oxford (UK) discovered that particles with similar charges in solution can attract each other from a distance, depending on the solvent used and the sign of the charge. This research was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology , according to Newsweek magazine.

The researchers monitored negatively charged silica microparticles suspended in solution and found that the particles actually attracted each other, forming clusters arranged in hexagons as they attracted each other.

While negatively charged particles in solution attract each other, positively charged particles do not. Scientists believe this is due to a gravitational force unique to water that is stronger than the usual electrostatic force, allowing these clusters to form. However, this gravitational force has no effect on positively charged particles in water.

Scientists have discovered that negatively charged silica microparticles in solution can actually attract each other.

Newsweek screenshot

Scientists also found that they could control the formation of clusters of negatively charged particles by changing the pH. However, no matter what the pH, the positively charged particles did not attract each other.

During the study, the team also wondered whether the effect on positively charged particles might change when the solvent was changed. When they changed the solution to alcohol instead of water, they observed that positively charged silica particles formed clusters like the ones above, while negatively charged particles did not.

"I am really proud of my two postgraduate students and the undergraduates who worked together to advance this fundamental discovery," said Oxford University professor Madhavi Krishnan, who led the research.

The researchers believe their research will change the way scientists think about processes such as how drugs and chemicals stabilize or how certain diseases progress. They also discovered a way to measure the properties of the electrical charge created by the solvent, something that was previously thought to be impossible.

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