Date Time Eindhoven version of famous Huygens experiment shows thin plastics can synchronize their swing Researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have modestly followed in the footsteps of the famous Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens by studying synchronization in plastics. They demonstrate for the first time that two plastic films can communicate with each other through a piece of plastic of the same material – oscillating in-phase and out-of-phase during light irradiation. This coupled deformation is relevant for the development of new soft robotic systems. The researchers published their results this week in the journal Nature Materials. Legend has it that in 1665 Christiaan Huygens was lying ill in bed and he observed the swing of two pendulum clocks mounted next to each other on a common wooden beam placed at the top of two chairs. To his surprise, he noticed the two pendulums often swinging towards and away from each other in perfect harmony.