Can a liquid behave like a solid?

When a solid object like a rubber ball is compressed onto a solid surface, it retains its original form when decompressed. In contrast, a water droplet’s contact angle with the surface irreversibly changes. But a new study has shown that a droplet of liquid mercury can undergo a reversible compression. Read more in Physical Review Letters.

JV Escobar and R Castillo, Physical Review Letters, 2013. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.226102