? Credit Points : 10  ? SCQF Level : 11  ? Acronym : PHY-4-MacrMol

Macromolecular Physics, or 'Soft Condensed Matter' is a rapidly growing area of physics in which the School has a large research effort. Soft matter describes materials in states of matter that are neither simple liquids or crystalline solids, and covers many materials familiar to everyday life. The course will emphasise the basic physics of colloidal systems (microscopic particles suspended in a liquid), of polymers (large flexible 'macromolecules') and of self-assembling systems such as surfactants. In many cases surprisingly simple models provide accurate descriptions of seemingly complex phenomena; for example, a simple 'random walk' describes both the Brownian motion of colloids and the shapes of polymer molecules. During the course examples will be drawn from biological systems and materials where possible.

? Pre-requisites : At least 70 credit points accrued in courses of SCQF Level 9 or 10 drawn from Schedule Q including Thermodynamics (PHY-3-Thermo) or equivalent. Prior attendance at Condensed Matter Physics (PHY-4-CondMatt) and Statistical Physics (PHY-4-StatPh) is desirable.

Home subject area

Undergraduate (School of Physics), (School of Physics, Schedule Q)

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date Start End Room Area Additional Information 07/01/2008 09:00 10:00 Lecture Room 5326, JCMB KB

All of the following classes

Type Day Start End Area Lecture Monday 09:00 09:50 KB Lecture Thursday 09:00 09:50 KB

Upon successful completion of this course it is intended that a student will be able to:
1)demonstrate an understanding of phase behaviour and phase transitions in soft matter
2)explain Brownian motion in the framework of the Einstein equation
3)discuss the behaviour of interacting colloidal particles
4)discuss the properties of polymers and derive the main models to describe their behaviour
5)demonstrate an understanding of self-assembly
6)demonstrate a grasp of the order of magnitude of the central quantities and develop confidence with "intuitive" estimates as well as calculations based on concepts presented in this course

Coursework 50% (30% Written assignment, 20% Oral assignment)
Degree Examination 50%

Exam times

Diet Diet Month Paper Code Paper Name Length 1ST May 1 - 2 hour(s)

The Course Secretary should be the first point of contact for all enquiries.

Course Secretary

Mrs Linda Grieve
Tel : (0131 6)50 5254
Email : linda.grieve@ed.ac.uk

Course Organiser

Dr Cait MacPhee
Email : cait.macphee@ed.ac.uk

School Website : http://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/

College Website : http://www.scieng.ed.ac.uk/