Undergraduate Course: Geometry and Physics of Soft Condensed Matter (PHYS11055)

Course Outline
School	School of Physics and Astronomy	College	College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Year 5 Undergraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	10	ECTS Credits	5
Summary	In this course, we explore how to build theories for the complex fluids introduced in the Soft Matter Physics and Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics courses; we will often be taking examples from the world of biology. The focus of the course will be to emphasise generic features in order to build up a repertoire of theoretical tools that are widely applicable to analyse a diversity of soft materials. Topics covered may vary from year to year depending on the specialisms of the staff involved.
Course description	Physics and nonequilibrium thermodynamics of binary mixtures Symmetries and phases of liquid crystals Topological defects in liquid crystals Hydrodynamic theories of complex fluids Topological properties of DNA: knots and supercoiling

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites	Students MUST have passed: Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics (PHYS10099) It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed Soft Condensed Matter Physics (PHYS10097)	Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	None
High Demand Course?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 20, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10, Summative Assessment Hours 4, Revision Session Hours 4, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 60 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	80% exam 20% coursework
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)			2:00

Academic year 2021/22, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 20, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10, Summative Assessment Hours 4, Revision Session Hours 4, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 60 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	80% exam 20% coursework
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)	Semester 1 Visiting Students Only		2:00

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Write down continuum (hydrodynamic) equations for complex fluids starting from a suitable free energy. Understand the physics of binary mixtures and liquid crystals. Understand and identify topological defects in liquid crystals, and understand their consequences for the physics of these materials. Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of DNA knots and supercoiling, and their basic consequences for DNA biophysics. 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.