The NEQLIQ project addresses the intricate dynamics and energetics of small systems, spanning from a few nanometers to several microns. These systems pose a dual challenge: firstly, the incomplete understanding of natural small systems, including living systems, and secondly, the contemporary challenge of miniaturization in Physics and Engineering. At this mesoscopic scale, energy fluctuations become comparable to average energy flows, highlighting the uniqueness of these systems and performing actions beyond classical Thermodynamics. Indeed, understanding small systems is not merely about scaling down macroscopic counterparts; rather, it involves navigating through the blurred boundaries of thermodynamic laws at the thermal energy edge. Critical systems, represented by liquid mixtures at critical concentrations, are a perfect target to study the thermal fluctuations as a free parameter of a physical system, and the combination with different photonics tools allows the unraveling of how tunable fluctuations may be used in this dual challenge.
The societal importance of addressing these challenges cannot be overstated. Advancements in small systems have profound implications across various sectors. In biotechnology, understanding the dynamics of small biological systems could lead to breakthroughs in drug delivery mechanisms, medical diagnostics, and targeted therapies. In energy, optimizing small-scale engines and machines could revolutionize energy efficiency, impacting transportation, manufacturing, and sustainability efforts. Moreover, advancements in small systems can pave the way for innovations in information technology, sensor development, and environmental monitoring or to profit the energy fluctuations around us. The potential use of environmental fluctuations, natural ones as thermal or artificial as wifi waves, remains unexplored, and it can hugely contribute to these goals.
The primary goal of NEQLIQ is to assess how critical interactions influence the dynamics and energetics of small systems. To achieve this, the project aims to identify the minimal effective model that characterizes the coupling between a critical bath and colloidal particles from a novel set of experiments. By quantifying changes in the viscoelastic features of the bath at different distances from criticality and analyzing the probability density function of thermodynamic parameters along a pathway, NEQLIQ seeks to unravel the underlying mechanisms governing small system behavior.
