Jülich, 23 March 2020 – Smart and active materials can adapt their properties spontaneously in response to changing environmental conditions; these dynamically controllable properties have already led to a wide range of applications. Chromogenic materials, for example, enable window panes to darken automatically depending on the amount of light present, shock absorbers are able to adapt their dampening properties to prevailing road conditions with the help of magnetorheological fluids, and piezoelectric materials can be deformed by electric voltage, allowing robots to perform mechanical movements. An international team of scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and the US research institute Argonne National Laboratory has now developed a new, active system of magnetic microparticles. The material self-organizes in a non-equilibrium steady state in the presence of a rotating magnetic field, and possesses potentially useful properties such as self-healing and controllable transport capabilities.