Phase-change-mediated transport and agglomeration of fungal spores on wheat awns.

Wheat and other staple crops are devastated by fungal diseases. Many fungal plant pathogens are spread via active or passive discharge of microscopic spores. Here, we described the unique transport of spores of the fungal pathogen , causal agent of black sooty mould, on wheat awns.

Synergistic dispersal of plant pathogen spores by jumping-droplet condensation and wind.

Plant pathogens are responsible for the annual yield loss of crops worldwide and pose a significant threat to global food security. A necessary prelude to many plant disease epidemics is the short-range dispersal of spores, which may generate several disease foci within a field. New information is needed on the mechanisms of plant pathogen spread within and among susceptible plants.

Thermoelectrics in ice slabs: charge dynamics and thermovoltages.

Thermoelectric effects of ice play an important role in many natural and engineering phenomena. We investigate, numerically and analytically, the electrification of finite-thickness ice slabs due to an imposed temperature difference across them. When exposed to a temperature gradient, thermoelectrification involves a fast initial stage dominated by Bjerrum defects and a subsequent slow stage driven by ionic defects.

Electrostatic Jumping of Frost.

The electrification of ice has been a subject of research since 1940, mostly in the context of charge generation in thunderstorms. This generation of electric charge is spontaneous, distinct from applying an external electric field to affect the diffusive growth of ice crystals. Here, we exploit the spontaneous electrification of ice to reveal a surprising phenomenon of jumping frost dendrites.

Oil-Impregnated Hydrocarbon-Based Polymer Films.

Porous surfaces impregnated with a liquid lubricant exhibit minimal contact angle hysteresis with immiscible test liquids, rendering them ideal as self-cleaning materials. Rather than roughening a solid substrate, an increasingly popular choice is to use an absorbent polymer as the "porous" material. However, to date the polymer choices have been limited to expensive silicone-based polymers or complex assemblies of polymer multilayers on functionalized surfaces.