Soft materials consist of basic units that are significantly larger than an atom but much
smaller than the overall dimensions of the sample. The label “soft condensed matter” …

The mechanical properties of soft biological tissues are essential to their physiological
function and cannot easily be duplicated by synthetic materials. Unlike simple polymer gels …

We revisit the concept of marginal stability in glasses and determine its range of applicability
in the context of an avalanche-type response to slow external driving. We argue that there is …

It has been observed that the majority of particles in a granular material carries less than the
average load and that the number of particles carrying larger than the average load …

We poorly understand the properties of amorphous systems at small length scales, where a
continuous elastic description breaks down. This is apparent when one considers their …

For years, engineers have used elastic and plastic models to describe the properties of
granular solids, such as sand piles and grains in silos,,. However, there are theoretical,, and …

We experimentally determine ensemble-averaged responses of granular packings to point
forces, and we compare these results to recent models for force propagation in a granular …

An ensemble approach for force distributions in static granular packings is developed. This
framework is based on the separation of packing and force scales, together with an a priori …

Simulated granular packings with different particle friction coefficient μ are examined. The
distribution of the particle-particle and particle-wall normal and tangential contact forces P (f) …

It has been claimed that quasistatic granular materials, as well as nanoscale materials,
exhibit departures from elasticity even at small loadings. It is demonstrated, using 2D and 3D …