Soft Condensed Matter Physics
Prof. Ivan I. Smalyukh,
Instructor
Where: DUAN PHYSICS G1B35
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM
Welcome to the Course Phys 7430 "Soft Condensed Matter Physics"
"Soft Condensed Matter Physics" is a course about fundamentals of liquid crystals, polymers, biological membranes, biopolymers, block copolymers, molecular monolayers, colloids, nanoparicle suspensions, emulsions, foams, gels, elastomers, and other soft materials. Soft materials are attractive not only because of the richness of observed physics phenomena but also because of technological applications and because of their biological significance. The constituent molecules (or particles and other building blocks) of soft matter interact via many different types of interactions, ranging from van der Waals interactions, to screened electrostatic and steric interactions, and to specific chemical binding. These relatively fragile forms of matter are of great interest because they easily respond to mechanical stresses, electric and magnetic fields, temperature variations, presence of ions, focused laser beams, etc. The course is intended for doctoral candidates, geared toward the students interested in conducting research in soft condensed matter. For students who do not intend to continue in Soft Matter research, this course will provide insights into how our world works on a microscopic scale.