Overturning a 200-year belief: New surface design enables two distinct wetting states on a single substrate

NIMS discovered a phenomenon in which droplets on a single solid surface exhibit both a "sticky" and "repellent" state simultaneously. Namely, the wetting behavior branches into two states. The science-journalism coverage adds useful context, while the strongest evidential footing still comes from the underlying data, papers or institutional documentation.

The significance lies in cosmology operates at the edge of what current instruments can measure, where systematic errors and model assumptions are never trivial. Small discrepancies between independent measurements have historically pointed toward missing physics rather than simple calibration errors, and the ongoing tension in the Hubble constant is a live example of how a persistent disagreement between methods can reshape the theoretical landscape. Each new dataset that approaches this territory with independent systematics adds real information to a problem that has resisted easy resolution for more than a decade. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Add as preferred source (a) Droplets in repellent and sticky states are simultaneously.

The repellent state is formed by first immersing the substrate in oil, and then casting a water droplet. Mizuki Tenjimbayashi, National Institute for Materials Science NIMS discovered a phenomenon in which droplets on a single solid surface exhibit both a "sticky" and "repellent".

This is a discovery that overturns interface chemistry scientists' belief held for over 200 years that, on a non-textured surface, the wetting state is uniquely determined by. This research result was published in Advanced Materials Interfaces on April 2, 2026.

This phenomenon, called "wetting," is observed in all kinds of situations, from natural phenomena to our daily life. In 1805, Thomas Young discovered a law that a single wetting state is always determined according to the combination between a solid and a liquid.

The relevance goes beyond one dataset because even small shifts in measured parameters can matter when the field is testing the limits of the standard cosmological model. The Lambda-CDM framework describes the observable universe with remarkable economy, but its success rests on two components, dark matter and dark energy, whose physical nature remains entirely unknown. Any credible measurement that tightens or loosens the constraints on those components moves the entire theoretical enterprise forward, regardless of whether the immediate result looks dramatic on its own terms.

This had been considered common understanding in interface science for a long time. Therefore, it leads to design of new functional surfaces capable of maintaining performance in the long term, even in an environment prone to scratches.

Because this item comes through Phys. org Chemistry as science journalism, it should be treated as contextual reporting rather than primary evidence. Good science reporting can identify why a result matters, connect it to the wider literature and make technical work readable, but the decisive evidence remains in the original paper, dataset, mission release or technical record. That distinction is especially important when a story is later repeated by aggregators, because repetition increases visibility, not evidential strength.

The next step is to see whether the effect survives when independent surveys, different calibration strategies and tighter control of systematic uncertainties enter the picture. Programmes such as Euclid, DESI and the Rubin Observatory will deliver datasets over the next several years that cover the same parameter space with largely independent methods. If the current signal persists through those tests, its theoretical implications will become impossible to set aside.

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