Soft Matter Physics: An Introduction - Rilegato

Kleman, Maurice; Lavrentovich, Oleg D.

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0387952675 ISBN 13: 9780387952673

Casa editrice: Springer-Verlag GmbH, 2002

Riassunto

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.

Su questo libro

Recensione

From the reviews:

"This book is an attempt to show the unity of soft matter systems. ... It is noteworthy that the authors have emphasized and discussed in detail that the order parameter has two characteristics: an amplitude and a phase (also called a degeneracy parameter). ... This book gives the conceptual means to classify the various types of singularities of an ordered medium. ... This book will be very useful for researchers and postgraduate students." (K. M. Salikhov, Applied Magnetic Resonance, Vol. 27 (3-4), 2004)

"This monography on soft condensed matter originates from a series of lectures given by the authors ... . The book is clearly written by two world leading experts of the field, it is an excellent basis for a third cycle course on the physics of liquid crystals. The bibliography is up-to-date and a list of valuable interesting references is added. ... this book presents in a condensed but clear way many facets of a very rich and fascinating field. We recommend it ... ." (Jean-Pierre Gaspard, Physicalia, Vol. 26 (1), 2004)

Contenuti

CHAPTER 1 Condensed Matter: General Characters, The Chemical Bond, Particle Interactions. / CHAPTER 2 Atomic and Molecular Arrangements. / CHAPTER 3 The Order Parameter: Amplitude and Phase. / CHAPTER 4 Phase Transitions. / CHAPTER 5 Elasticity of Mesomorphic Phases. / CHAPTER 6 Dynamics of Isotropic and Anisotropic Fluids. / CHAPTER 7 Fractals and Growth Phenomena. / CHAPTER 8 Dislocations in Solids. Plastic Relaxation. / CHAPTER 9 Dislocations in Smectic and Columnar Phases. / CHAPTER 10 Curvature Defects in Smectics and Columnar Phases. / CHAPTER 11 Disclinations and Topological Point Defects. Fluid Relaxation. / CHAPTER 12 Topological Theory of Defects. / CHAPTER 13 Surface Phenomena. / CHAPTER 14 Stability of Colloidal Systems. / CHAPTER 15 Polymers: Structural Properties.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Springer-Verlag GmbH
• Data di pubblicazione: 2002
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0387952675
• ISBN 13: 9780387952673
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 637
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: ProductSafety@springernature.com; ProductSafety@springernature.com; ; Poststr. 9; Darmstadt; 64293; Germania