The mysterious 'action at a distance' between liquid containers

For several years, it has been known that superfluid helium housed in reservoirs located next to each other acts collectively, even when the channels connecting the reservoirs are too narrow and too long to allow for substantial flow. A new theoretical model reveals that the phenomenon of mysterious communication "at a distance" between fluid reservoirs is much more common than previously thought.

Liquids in containers that are at a distance from each other may behave collectively, even if the channels connecting the reservoirs are so narrow and long that they prevent significant flow. The mysterious "action at a distance" was discovered only recently and was only observed in helium cooled to a very low temperature. The theoretical model of the phenomenon, developed by an international team of scientists, including those from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC PAS) in Warsaw, however, suggests that this effect may also be present in other liquids -- and in much more typical conditions.