Living State Physics - Week 3

"It seems that the human mind has first to construct forms independently before we can find them in things. Kepler's marvelous achievement

is a particularly fine example of the truth that knowledge cannot spring from experience alone, but only from the comparison of inventions of

the mind with observed fact." (Albert Einstein)

Navigator Zoran Konkoli (Forskarhuset - 4132 / 772 54 80)

This weeks home assignement you get by contacting Zoran directly or click here.

Hand-out: Sections of Doi Edwards book (see ref. [1]) and sections of Grosberg-Khokhkov book (see ref. [2])

Monday 6/11:  13.15-15.00(FL71) Universality and scaling laws in polymer physics

• Gaussian chain is reasonable approximation to real polymer
• Polymers can be characterized in terms of persistence length (tells us about polymer stiffness)

and gyration radius (tells us how big polymer is)
• Real polymer is made of molecules clumped together which have structure: the measured Gyration radius

and Persistence length, can we neglect all structural details while  calculating them? In principle yes.
The polymer has to sufficiently long. We will demonstrate this  on simple toy model.

Monday 6/11:  16:00-17:45 (FL71) Polymers in external potentials

• Polymers are related to Quantum Mechanics
• Experience from Quantum Mechanics tells us that there are two states of polymer that are very

different: the globule (compact) and coil (stretched) state
• Examples: 1D Polymer in the box, 1D polymer attached to the wall.
• Introduction to polymer reptation (example where external potential is generated by other polymers)

Background material

• [1] M. Doi and S.F. Edwards,  "The theory of polymer dynamics" (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986)
(Book is old but concepts are eternal, probably the most cited book on polymer physics)
• [2] Grosberg A.Yu. and Khokhlov A.R., "Statistical Physics of Macromolecules" (AIP Press, 1994)
(Another book, quite pedagogic and well structured)
• [3] Kleinert H., "Path integrals in Quantum Mechanics, Statistics and Polymer Physics" (World Scientific, 1995)
(Excellent book connecting Quantum Mechanics with Polymer Physics, though technically more demanding.
Yet, the chapter 15 related to polymer physics is quite readable)
• [4] "Polymer physics - Introduction", Burghardt WR,  J.  Pol. Science B-Pol. Phys.  37:(7) 617 (1999)
(Nice collection of personal views on polymer physics, all of authors are pioneers in the field.
The collection gives nice overview of actual research activities in the field)
• [5] "Polymer Physics - Molecular Individualism", deGennes PG, Science 276:(5321) 1999 (1997)
(One page article reviewing interesting experiment in polymer melts. See globule and coil with your own eyes)