Research Catalog

Title

Soft matter physics : an introduction / Maurice Kleman, Oleg D. Lavrentovich ; foreword by J. Friedel.

Author

Kléman, Maurice.

Publication

New York : Springer, c2003.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Lavrentovich, Oleg D.

Description

xxv, 637 p. : ill.; 25 cm.

Summary

Traditionally, the materials studied by physicists have uniform properties and can readily be classified as solids, liquids, or gases. However, many materials of great interest for technology, chemistry, or biology, have complex structures and properties that vary from point to point and time to time. Among these are such materials as liquid crystals, polymer solutions or melts, colloids, foams, and gels, which have come collectively to be called "soft matter." They generally consist of organic molecules that interact weakly, so that individual phases are stable only over small temperature ranges. This text, intended for students with some knowledge of quantum mechanics, discusses the physics of these materials. It begins with discussions of the chemical bond and the interactions that bind molecules into condensed matter, of the ordering (crystalline or otherwise) one finds in condensed matter, noting that for soft matter the order is intermediate between that of crystals and that of typical disordered fluids. The discussion then turns to phase transitions, elasticity, and dynamics, using liquid crystals as the focus. A discussion of growth phenomena and fractals introduces a detailed treatment of dislocations and defects that clarifies many concepts by using insights only recently developed from the study of liquid crystals. The book concludes with discussions of surface phenomena, the stability of colloidal systems, and structural properties of polymers. The detailed exposition, the emphasis on physical principles, and the exercises at the ends of each chapter will make this a valuable introduction to this rapidly growing area of research.

Series Statement

Partially ordered systems

Uniform Title

Partially ordered systems.

Subject

• Soft condensed matter
• Order-disorder models
• Physics
• Polymers
• Condensed matter
• Surfaces (Physics)

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Condensed Matter: General Characters, The Chemical Bond, Particle Interactions -- Atomic and Molecular Arrangements -- The Order Parameter: Amplitude and Phase -- Phase Transitions -- Elasticity of Mesomorphic Phases -- Dynamics of Isotropic and Anisotropic Fluids -- Fractals and Growth Phenomena -- Dislocations in Solids -- Plastic Relaxation -- Dislocations in Smectic and Columnar Phases -- Curvature Defects in Smectics and Columnar Phases -- Disclinations and Topological Point Defects. Fluid Relaxation -- Topological Theory of Defects -- Surface Phenomena -- Stability of Colloidal Systems -- Polymers: Structural Properties.

ISBN

0387952675 (alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2001020449

OCLC

• 46240280
• SCSB-9983102

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library