Passive matter and active matter

As part of the ‘Le Collège à la Bibliothèque’ lecture series, Professor Jean-François Joanny, holder of the Chair in Soft Matter and Biophysics , will give a lecture entitled ‘Passive Matter and Active Matter’ on 3 November 2026, from 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm.

Introduction

In living matter, every constituent (cell, microorganism, animal) consumes energy. This matter therefore does not follow the laws of thermodynamics and, in many circumstances, behaves very differently from conventional materials. Drawing on examples from biology, this lecture will shed light on this highly distinctive behaviour.

Active matter is a form of matter in which every constituent consumes energy. This includes all biological systems, but more broadly also the behaviour of groups of animals or humans, or certain synthetic systems. Active matter does not follow the laws of thermodynamics and, in many circumstances, behaves very differently from conventional materials. Examples, often drawn from biology, will illustrate behaviours specific to active matter.

The lecture series is organised in partnership with *Pour la Science* magazine .