Biological and Soft Matter Physics

PHYS20632 Biological and Soft Matter Physics 10 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 2 Ingo Dierking Unit coordinator Department of Physics & Astronomy 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 5.0 This course unit delves into the fundamentals of the wealth of soft materials and biomaterials, exploring the concepts and properties of liquid crystals, polymers, colloids, biopolymers, surfactants and lipid membranes.  It begins by reviewing key concepts in soft matter physics, including phase transitions and their descriptions, mesoscopic forces, surface phenomena, rheology and stochastic dynamics. The course will cover essential topics in soft matter systems, such as thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals, polymers, glass transition and biopolymers, as well as colloids and bio-colloids. The concept of self-assembly will be stressed and examples of the latter presented and discussed. In particular, the connections between liquid crystals, polymers, biological systems and colloids will be made clear through self-assembled structures and similar properties of some of the fundamental classes of soft matter.As the course progresses, it will cover non-equilibrium systems and excitable matter, through the discussion of gels, the phenomenon of jamming, and peptides and protein folding. Excitable cells and neural networks will conclude the course unit.   This course unit delves into the fundamentals of the wealth of soft materials and biomaterials, exploring the concepts and properties of liquid crystals, polymers, colloids, biopolymers, surfactants and lipid membranes.  It begins by reviewing key concepts in soft matter physics, including phase transitions and their descriptions, mesoscopic forces, surface phenomena, rheology and stochastic dynamics. The course will cover essential topics in soft matter systems, such as thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals, polymers, glass transition and biopolymers, as well as colloids and bio-colloids. The concept of self-assembly will be stressed and examples of the latter presented and discussed. In particular, the connections between liquid crystals, polymers, biological systems and colloids will be made clear through self-assembled structures and similar properties of some of the fundamental classes of soft matter.As the course progresses, it will cover non-equilibrium systems and excitable matter, through the discussion of gels, the phenomenon of jamming, and peptides and protein folding. Excitable cells and neural networks will conclude the course unit.   To provide a broad overview of the different states of soft and biological matter and to introduce the concepts and physics behind liquid crystals, polymers, colloids, biopolymers, surfactants, and lipid membranes. Further, to understand the connections between different types of soft materials and biomaterials. To appreciate phenomena in non-equilibrium systems and excitable neuronal systems.   On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:  ILO 1Explain the general concepts of soft and biological matter physics.ILO 2Give examples and explanations of phase transitions in soft and biological matter.ILO 3Explain phenomena associated with mesoscopic forces, stochastic dynamics, mechanics, rheology and the surfaces of soft and biological matter.ILO 4Describe the connections between different types of soft matter and biomaterials.ILO 5Explain key experimental techniques and properties in relation to soft condensed matter.ILO 6Describe phenomena in jamming, gels, glasses and excitable matter. Two one hour, live in-person lectures per week where the core material with examples will be delivered. The recordings of these lectures, as well as the corresponding presentation materials, will be available. The lectures are accompanied by occasional tutorial-style question sheets for indirect feedback. Model answers will be released about two weeks later. A Piazza discussion forum is also provided where students can ask questions with answers provided by other students and the unit lead.  <h4 class="ui header" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;border-style:none;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87);font-family:"Segoe UI", Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:1.1rem !important;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.28571em;margin:-0.142857em 0px 1rem;orphans:2;padding:0px;scrollbar-color:auto;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">CUIP Teaching Methods</h4><div class="ui grid" style="-webkit-box-align:stretch;-webkit-box-direction:normal;-webkit-box-orient:horizontal;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;align-items:stretch;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87);display:flex;flex-flow:wrap;font-family:"Segoe UI", Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:-1rem;orphans:2;padding:0px;scrollbar-color:auto;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="five wide column" style="box-sizing:inherit;display:inline-block;padding:1rem;position:relative;vertical-align:top;width:333.854px;"><figure class="table" style="width:305.854px;"><table class="ui table" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-collapse:separate;border-radius:0.285714rem;border-spacing:0px;border:1px solid rgba(34, 36, 38, 0.15);box-shadow:none;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87);font-size:1em;margin:0px;scrollbar-color:auto;text-align:left;vertical-align:middle;" id="teaching_table"><thead class="mobile hidden" style="box-shadow:none;box-sizing:inherit;text-align:inherit;vertical-align:inherit;"><tr style="box-sizing:inherit;"><th style="background-color:rgb(249, 250, 251);border-bottom:1px solid rgba(34, 36, 38, 0.1);border-left-style:none;border-radius:0.285714rem 0px 0px;border-right-color:!important;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87);cursor:auto;padding:0.928571em 0.785714em;text-align:inherit;text-transform:none;transition:background 0.1s, color 0.1s;vertical-align:inherit;">Activity</th><th class="right aligned" style="background-color:rgb(249, 250, 251);border-bottom:1px solid rgba(34, 36, 38, 0.1);border-left-style:none;border-radius:0px 0.285714rem 0px 0px;box-sizing:inherit;color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87);cursor:auto;padding:0.928571em 0.785714em;text-align:right;text-transform:none;transition:background 0.1s, color 0.1s;vertical-align:inherit;">Hours</th></tr></thead><tbody style="box-sizing:inherit;counter-reset:numdivcounter 0;text-align:inherit;vertical-align:inherit;"><tr style="box-sizing:inherit;"><td style="border-right-color:!important;border-top-style:none;box-sizing:inherit;padding:0.785714em;text-align:inherit;transition:background 0.1s, color 0.1s;">Lectures</td><td class="right aligned" style="border-top-style:none;box-sizing:inherit;padding:0.785714em;text-align:right;transition:background 0.1s, color 0.1s;">24</td></tr><tr style="box-sizing:inherit;"><td style="border-right-color:!important;border-top:1px solid rgba(34, 36, 38, 0.1);box-sizing:inherit; 1 Written exam 100% Problem sheets: 0% weighting. Written exam: 100% weighting. PHYS20171 Mathematics of Waves and Fields Co-Requisite Compulsory PHYS20151 Properties of Matter Co-Requisite Compulsory N Waigh, T.A. The Physics of Living Processes (Wiley), 2014Israelachvili, J.N. Intermolecular and Surface Forces (AP), 2011Rubinstein, M., Colby, R. H., Polymer Physics (OUP), 2003Berg, J.C., An Introduction to Interfaces and Colloids (World Scientific), 2010Collings, P.J., Goodby, J.W., Introduction to Liquid Crystals (CRC Press), 2020and others. Lectures 24 0 76