Admission requirements
None.
Description
In soft matter physics we study physical constituents with interactions that are weak enough (of the order kT) that the matter is easily deformed, hence soft or squishy, and at scales from about a micron and up where quantum mechanics is irrelevant. Many soft matter materials and concepts are relevant for biology, and we will also consider active or living materials which are internally driven.
This course will provide an introduction to several key soft and biological materials and phases, and to the most important concepts to describe and analyze them. In addition, we focus on the general applicability of techniques and concepts, and to connections with other areas of physics.
The course broadly follows 'Soft Matter: Concepts, Phenomena, and Applications', by Wim van Saarloos, Vincenzo Vitelli and Zorana Zeravcic. Additional material and slides for the whole course as well as exercises and solutions will also be provided.
Topics:
An introduction to fluid mechanics and to elasticity theory;
Life at low Reynolds numbers and application to cells, colloids and microfluidics;
Brownian motion of particles in a fluid, leading to the Langevin equation, fluctuation-dissipation theorem, and the Smoluchowski equation;
Introduction to Colloids; forces between colloidal particles. Active Brownian particles and active colloids;
Introduction to the physics of jammed and glassy materials;
The physics of polymers, and application to biopolymers;
Liquid crystals, including the Frank free energy, topological defects, and active nematic materials;
The physics of cell sheets using vertex models, the mechanics of active solids.
Course objectives
Upon completion of this course you will be able to:
gain a broad overview of the existing soft and biological materials and what the focus of ongoing research is;
understand the context and line of reasoning in a research paper in the field;
critically discuss the concepts and material treated in the course using a blackboard or whiteboard;
be able to apply the concepts and techniques introduced in the course to your own research problems;
derive intermediate steps in a line of reasoning and carry out theoretical calculations with the broad range of techniques introduced in the course and exercises.
Schedule
The timetables are available through My Timetable (see the button in the upper right corner).
Teaching method
The core of the course is formed by 12 lectures of two hours. Weekly additional exercise classes will deepen your understanding and train you how to do significant calculations, both on your own, and together with your peers and the TA, on the board.
Assesment method
The assessment is based on two parts:
- Exercise sets: We ask that students attend and participate in the weekly tutorials and hand in a minimum fraction of the exercise sets, and show that they have made a credible effort at solving those sets. This develops the technical skills of students and will count for 30% of the grade.
- After the course, students will take an oral exam, at a mutually agreeable date that fits the student's schedule and preferences. The oral exam will be in person and will take half an hour, and is in the spirit of an informed discussion in front of a board about the course material. We will focus on concepts from the course, and connections between the different topics that are part of it. This will be preceded by a one hour supervised preparation time. The exam will count for 70% of the grade.
The final grade will be determined as follows:
Exercises (30%)
Final exam (oral / hybrid) (70%)
Resit, review & feedback
Examinations are held twice during the academic year for each component offered in that academic year. Midterm tests cannot be retaken. The Board of Examiners determines the manner of resit for practical assignments.
For review and feedback, see Brightspace.
Reading list
The course material will be covered in slides and additional notes, homework and solutions as well as programs which the students can obtain online in Brightspace.
We will broadly follow 'Soft Matter: Concepts, Phenomena, and Applications', by Wim van Saarloos, Vincenzo Vitelli and Zorana Zeravcic, Princeton University Press (2024).
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap (button in upper right corner) is mandatory. General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer(s) (listed in the right information bar).
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.