title: Self-assembly of magnetically interacting cubes by a turbulent fluid flow.
abstract: Previous work has demonstrated that combining mechanical vibration with magnetic interactions can result in the self-assembly of complex structures, albeit at low yield. Here we introduce a system where the yield of self-assembled structures is quantitatively predicted by a theoretical analysis. Millimeter-sized magnetic blocks, designed to form chains as their minimal energy state, are placed in a turbulent fluid flow. The distribution of chain lengths that form is quantitatively consistent with predictions, showing that the chain length distribution coincides with that of monomers or polymers in a thermal bath, with the turbulence strength parametrizing the effective temperature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ilievski
authors.forename: Madhav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mani
authors.forename: George M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Whitesides
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Brenner