Soft Condensed Matter: Configurations, Dynamics and Functionality
Contributors: A.T. Skjeltorp (Editor); Sam F. Edwards (Editor)
Edition: 1 edition
Series: NATO SCIENCE SERIES: C Mathematical and Physical Sciences Volume 552
Publisher: Springer
Published: August 31, 2000
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 308
ISBN-13: 9780792364030
Subjects: Condensed matter physics (liquids & solids); Science; Mechanics - Dynamics - Thermodynamics; Medical / Nursing; Science/Mathematics; General; Mathematical Physics; Physics; Technology / Material Science
First sentence: A well identified community of physicists has established itself over the last thirty years, which was present in the 1999 Geilo Institute.
Description: The term `soft condensed matter' encompasses a wide range of substances which are neither ordinary solids nor ordinary liquids. They do have vestigial liquid and solid properties, but their character is much more complex and subtle. Systems range from foams and complex fluids to granular materials and biomaterials (proteins, DNA, membranes). The structural states they adopt are driven by subtle competition between intermolecular interaction energies and entropic forces, both of which are often close to thermal energies at room temperature. Configurations and their dynamic evolution are significant determinants of a wide variety of mesoscopic and microscopic properties. The book reviews both the language needed to discuss such systems, as well as basic questions about such phenomena as competing ground states, nonlinear feedback, and slow dynamics. The approach is pedagogical and tutorial, while the work presented is fully up to date. The level is appropriate to graduate researchers, either moving into the field or already active in it.