Related papers: Liquid crystals: a new topic in physics for underg…
Liquid crystals are the prototype of the so-called soft condensed matter. In simple terms they are "structured liquids" that historically have received a lot of interest because they help to generate new concepts and knowledge in Physics,…
Liquid crystal is a typical kind of soft matter that is intermediate between crystalline solids and isotropic fluids. The study of liquid crystals has made tremendous progress over the last four decades, which is of great importance on both…
Colloids are abundant in nature, science and technology, with examples ranging from milk to quantum dots and the "colloidal atom" paradigm. Similarly, liquid crystal ordering is important in contexts ranging from biological membranes to…
This article describes an undergraduate physics module at a university in England that places year 3 student physicists in secondary school classrooms for a semester. This is done as a way of introducing them to the occupation of secondary…
Liquid crystals are phases of matter intermediate between crystals and liquids. Whereas classical liquid crystals have been known for a long time and are used in electro-optical displays, much less is known about their quantum counterparts.…
The last decade has witnessed a rapid growth in understanding of the pivotal roles of mechanical stresses and physical forces in cell biology. As a result an integrated view of cell biology is evolving, where genetic and molecular features…
The nucleation of crystals in liquids is one of nature's most ubiquitous phenomena, playing an important role in areas such as climate change and the production of drugs. As the early stages of nucleation involve exceedingly small time and…
These lecture notes discuss classical models of liquid crystals, and the different ways in which defects are described according to the different models.
Both the basic educational contents for students and study programs for science teachers include several topics in physics and astronomy, from the simplest ones to others as advanced as nuclear fusion to explain stellar evolution and…
This is a report of a course on modern physics designed and taught to undergraduate science and engineering students in the Spring of 2013. The course, meant for freshmen, attempts to integrate statistical mechanics into non-classical…
Microscopic understanding of liquid properties is essential for advancing a wide range of applications from energy applications such as nuclear reactors and batteries to biomedical applications including drug delivery and microfluidics.…
Experimental activities are an essential part of physics education. In addition to conveying scientific knowledge, they play a significant role in developing scientific literacy, inquiry skills, and critical thinking. In today's world,…
Quantum spin liquids are an exciting playground for exotic physical phenomena and emergent many-body quantum states. The realization and discovery of quantum spin liquid candidate materials and associated phenomena lie at the intersection…
Timescales spanning 24 orders of magnitude smaller than one second can be studied experimentally, and each range is packed with different physical phenomena. This rich range of timescales offers a great context for an innovative…
In this paper, which is of programmatic rather than quantitative nature, we aim to further delineate and sharpen the future potential of the LISA mission in the area of fundamental physics. Given the very broad range of topics that might be…
Optics is an important subfield of physics required for instrument design and used in a variety of other disciplines, including materials science, physics, and life sciences such as developmental biology and cell biology. It is important to…
We describe a study on the conceptual difficulties faced by college students in understanding hydrodynamics of ideal fluids. This study was based on responses obtained in hundreds of written exams and oral interviews, which were held with…
Liquids flowing against solid surfaces experience friction. While solid friction is familiar to anyone with a sense of touch, liquid friction is much more exotic. At macroscopic scales indeed, the assumption of inifinite friction, i.e. that…
We present a review on the study of metastable silicon, primarily focusing mainly on the aspects of liquid-liquid transition, critical point and phase behaviour, structural and dynamic properties of liquid phase as well as crystal…
Recent experimental realization of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystalline phases stimulated material development and numerous experimental studies of these new phases, guided by their fundamental and applicative interest. In this…