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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Physics and Astronomy : Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy)

Undergraduate Course: Soft Condensed Matter Physics (PHYS10097)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Physics and Astronomy CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummarySoft Condensed Matter Physics studies complex fluids in which intermediate level structures with length scale between small molecules and the macroscopic world exist: colloidal particles, polymers, and aggregates spontaneously formed by soap-like (surfac- tant) molecules. This course emphasises the generic features of these systems (most im- portantly, Brownian motion), and develops simple models to account for their behaviour. It will also look at how the principle of soft matter physics can give insight into biological problems.
Course description * Material properties of gases, liquids and solids; atomic and molecular interactions
* Phase transitions and phase diagrams
* Viscous, elastic and viscoelastic behaviour of materials
* Glasses and the glass transition
* Liquid-liquid demixing and the regular solution model
* Interfaces and the kinetics of phase transitions: nucleation and spinodal decomposition
* Polymeric materials:rubber
* Statistics of polymer chains
* Self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules
*Brownian motion
* Colloidal particles and the forces between them
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Electromagnetism (PHYS09060) OR Electromagnetism and Relativity (PHYS10093)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  30
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 16, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 4, Summative Assessment Hours 3, Revision Session Hours 3, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 72 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 50 %, Coursework 50 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 50% Coursework
50% Examination
Feedback Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)Soft Condensed Matter Physics3:180
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of phase behaviour and phase transitions in soft matter.
  2. explain which forces act on and between colloidal particles and derive the main equations governing them
  3. Discuss the properties and characterization of polymers and derive the main models to describe their behaviour.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of self-assembly.
  5. 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.
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsSCMP
Contacts
Course organiserDr Patrick Pietzonka
Tel:
Email: ppietzon@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Katy Brown
Tel: (01316) 505310
Email: kbrown12@ed.ac.uk
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