Includes bibliographical references (pages 139-142) and index.
Contents:
The science of softness -- Milkiness, muddiness, and inkiness -- Sliminess and stickiness -- Gelification and soapiness -- Pearliness -- Liveliness.
Summary:
Soft matter science is concerned with soft materials such as polymers, colloids, liquid crystals, and foams, and has emerged as a rich interdisciplinary field over the last 30 years. Drawing on physics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering, soft matter links fundamental scientific ideas to everyday phenomena. One such example is "polymers", encountered in plastic materials and melted cheese, which illustrate how "sliminess" emerges from the flow and form of giant molecules. This Very Short Introduction delves into the field of soft matter, looking beneath the appearances of matter into its inner structure. Tom McLeish shows how Brownian Motion - the random local motion of molecules that gives rise to "heat" - is an underlying principle of soft matter. From hair conditioner to honey, he discusses how the shared physical properties and characteristics of these materials influence the way they behave, and their industrial applications.-- Source other than the Library of Congress.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.