Statistically interacting particles with shapes

Ising spin $s=\frac{1}{2},1,\frac{3}{2}$ chains with nearest and next-nearest neighbor coupling are interpreted as systems of floating particles. The particles are classified into species according to structure and into categories according to function. Species are distinguished by motifs consisting of several consecutive spins that interlink by sharing one or two sites. The four categories include compacts, hosts, tags, and hybrids. All particles from one set are excited from a selected Ising product state serving as pseudo-vacuum. Compacts and hosts float in segments of pseudo-vacuum. Tags are located inside hosts. Hybrids are tags with hosting capability. All particles are free of binding energies but subject to a generalized Pauli principle. In the Ising context, all particle energies are functions of the Hamiltonian parameters. However, the exact statistical mechanical analysis can be performed for particles with arbitrary energies. The entropy is a function of the particle populations from each species. Applications to jamming of granular matter in narrow channels and to DNA overstretching are in the works.