The Processes Behind Shear Thickening (IMAGE) North Carolina State University Caption For the first time, researchers have been able capture images providing unprecedented details of how particles behave in a liquid suspension when the phenomenon known as shear thickening takes place. The work allows us to directly understand the processes behind shear thickening, which had previously only been understood based on inference and computational modeling. These renderings of microscopic images obtained from the confocal rheometer, showing the intricate network architectures formed by smooth (top) and rough (bottom) particles in strongly shear thickening suspensions. The clustered particles have been cut away from the center of each image and replaced with blue lines that illustrate the nature of the networks formed between particles. Credit Lilian Hsiao, NC State University Usage Restrictions Image credit must be given. License Original content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.