Soft Matter Physics
What do colloids, fractals, liquid crystals, and polymers have in common? Nothing at first sight. Yet the distance scales, the energy transfers, the way these objects react to an external field are very similar. For the first time, this book offers an introduction to the physics of these soft materials in one single volume. A variety of experiments and concepts are presented, including the phenomena of capillarity and wetting, fractals, small volumes and large surfaces, colloids, surfactants, giant micelles and fluid membranes, polymers, and liquid crystals. Each chapter is written by experts in the field with the aim of making the book accessible to the widest possible scientific audience: graduate students, lecturers, and research scientists in physics, chemistry, and other disciplines. Nobel Prize winner Pierre-Gilles de Gennes inspired this book and has written a foreword.