This laboratory course is taught in the spring semester, and is ideal for the third year (6th
semester) and fourth year undergraduate physics students. This course will be very useful for
those who are planning to go for higher education (Master/PhD) in physics. The main
objective of this lab course is to introduce some of the concepts of soft matter physics
through experiments. The first two weeks will be devoted to introduce some of the relevant
ideas (theoretical treatment) in liquid crystals/ transport phenomena in electrolytes. The
complexity/rigour of the course will depend on the level you choose.
The student will learn:
a) the basic physics of liquid crystals/ transport phenomena in electrolyte systems/
physics of fluid mechanics,
b) handling and preparing samples/cells,
c) using advanced polarized light microscope, LCR meter, avalanche photodiodes for
optical measurements,
d) setting up optical setup for some measurements from scratch
e) basics of interfacing an equipment.
pramoda.kumar@ashoka.edu.in