Amphiphiles (detergents, phospholipids) have a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail. Above the critical micelle concentration (CMC), they spontaneously self-assemble to bury tails from water.
This simulation uses a coarse-grained model: head-head and tail-water interactions are repulsive; tail-tail interactions attract. Temperature competes with order.
Structures: micelles (spherical), bilayer vesicles, and worm-like micelles form depending on molecular geometry — the packing parameter p = v/(aₒL).