- Introduction to soft matter
Concepts of broken symmetry, rigidity, long-wavelength fluctuations, order parameters, topological defects
- Review of basic Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics
Basics of First and Second laws of Thermodynamics, homogeneous functions, densities of thermodynamics variables and their relations, basics of Microcanonical, Canonical, and Grandcanonical ensembles
- Phase transitions: Basics and simple models
Concepts, Bragg-Williams theory or Ising spins, liquid-gas transition, Landau theory for homogeneous order parameter, I-st and II-nd order transitions
- Structure of soft matter systems
Structure factor, density correlation functions, applications to liquid crystals, periodic objects, surfactants, fractals, polymers
- Introducing candidate soft matter systems: Interactions and Free energies
Forces and energies in colloids, polymers, liquid crystals, membranes
- Phase transitions in soft matter systems
Colloidal phase transitions, coil-globule transition in polymers - single chain and solutions, isotropic-nematic transition in liquid crystals
- Elasticity in soft matter systems
Classical theory, stress tensor, generalized elasticity, elastic free energies for nematics, smectics, membranes, rubber elasticity in polymers
- Hydrodynamics and its application to soft matter
Basic of hyrdrodynamics
- Advanced properties
Viscoelasticity, Rheology, Topological defects
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