👉 Ray fluid is a theoretical model used in soft matter physics and polymer science to describe the behavior of materials that exhibit both solid-like and fluid-like properties. Introduced by John D. Ray in 1979, it conceptualizes materials as a mixture of solid particles suspended in a continuous fluid medium. These particles interact with each other and the surrounding fluid through various forces, such as van der Waals attractions and repulsions, leading to complex dynamics. Ray fluid models are particularly useful for understanding phase transitions, self-assembly, and the mechanical properties of soft materials like colloids, polymer melts, and liquid crystals. The model simplifies the intricate interactions in these systems into a set of effective equations, making it a powerful tool for both theoretical analysis and practical applications in materials science.
