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Health & Science4h 1m ago
A new study presents a framework that effectively restores access to powerful mathematical tools for studying systems where Newton's third law does not apply.
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Germany
Who
Marin Bukov, Ricard Alert, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Max Planck Institute
What
A new study presents a framework that effectively restores access to powerful mathematical tools for studying systems where Newton's third law does not apply.
When
Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:11:00 GMT · 4h 1m ago
Where
Germany ·
Why
Many real-world collective systems, like bird flocks or moving cells, appear to ignore Newton's third law, posing a challenge for physicists as many mathematical tools assume balanced action and reaction.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
This new framework allows scientists to use established mathematical tools to analyze nonreciprocal systems, potentially making it easier to study flocking animals, active matter, biological tissues, and exotic quantum systems. This could lead to a deeper understanding of how complex matter organizes itself when action-reaction symmetry breaks down.
Story chain
4 events in this thread- Health & Science4h 1m agoA new study presents a framework that effectively restores access to powerful mathematical tools for studying systems where Newton's third law does not apply, such as bird flocks.Open article
- Health & Science4h 1m agoA new study presents a framework that effectively restores access to powerful mathematical tools in physics to study collective systems that appear to ignore Newton's third law.Open article
- Currently Reading4h 1m agoA new study presents a framework that effectively restores access to powerful mathematical tools for studying systems where Newton's third law does not apply.
- Health & Science4h 1m agoPhysicists have developed a framework to apply mathematical tools, previously limited to systems where Newton's third law applies, to nonreciprocal systems like bird flocks.Open article