The course will provide a birds-eye view of soft matter physics, concentrating on physical ideas and building up the mathematical description. Examples will include: Polymers: DNA, proteins, plastics, fabrics; Gels: jelly, rubber; Suspensions/Dispersions (one phase in another): river water, blood; Surfactant solutions: detergents, shampoos; Emulsions and foams: paint, shaving cream; Liquid crystals: displays; Greases, pastes, powders, granular media; Colloids (suspensions of small particles in a medium): Milk; Membranes: Cell membranes and Magnetorheological fluids.
Pre-requisites: Statistical mechanics
