Mesoscopic Physics Of Complex Materials

A cross-disciplinary study of the physical properties of complex fluids, solids, and interfaces as a function of their mesoscopic structures, with empasis on nonequilibrium phenomena. The book introduces readers to the methods of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics as applied to complex materials, but always connects theories with experiments. It shows the underlying connections between topics as diverse as critical phenomena in colloidal dynamics, glassy state relaxation and deformation, reinforced polymer composites, molecular level mixing in nanocomposites, and rough surfaces and interfaces. At the same time, each chapter is designed to be independent from the others so that the book can serve as a reference work as well as a text. It is not designed to review all the recent work in mesoscopic physics, which spans many disciplines, but rather attempts to establish a general framework for understanding and developing new materials that can not be designed by the trial and error methods. A familiarity with the basics of statistical mechanics and condensed matter physics is assumed.

Future high-tech applications such as nanotechnology require a deep understanding of the physics of mesoscopic systems. These systems form a bridge between macroscopic systems governed by classical physics and microscopic systems governed by quantum physics. This introduction discusses a variety of typical surface, optical, transport, and magnetic properties of mesoscopic systems with reference to many experimental observations. It is written for physicists, materials scientists and engineers who want to stay abreast of current research or high-tech development.

Semiconductor technology has developed considerably during the past several decades. The exponential growth in microelectronic processing power has been achieved by a constant scaling down of integrated cir,cuits. Smaller fea ture sizes result in increased functional density, faster speed, and lower costs. One key ingredient of the LSI technology is the development of the lithog raphy and microfabrication. The current minimum feature size is already as small as 0.2 /tm, beyond the limit imposed by the wavelength of visible light and rapidly approaching fundamental limits. The next generation of devices is highly likely to show unexpected properties due to quantum effects and fluctuations. The device which plays an important role in LSIs is MOSFETs (metal oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors). In MOSFETs an inversion layer is formed at the interface of silicon and its insulating oxide. The inversion layer provides a unique two-dimensional (2D) system in which the electron concentration is controlled almost freely over a very wide range. Physics of such 2D systems was born in the mid-1960s together with the development of MOSFETs. The integer quantum Hall effect was first discovered in this system.

Presentations by advanced materials specialists from around the world. Of special interest in this volume are the presentations on application areas such as automotive and civil engineering, nanomaterials, ceramic/metal composites, smart materials, and composite structures.

Covers foundations of dislocations and metallurgy, with up-to-date discussion of multiscale modeling, including the field theory of multiscale plasticity.

This textbook covers the basic principles of statistical physics and thermodynamics. The text is pitched at the level equivalent to first-year graduate studies or advanced undergraduate studies. It presents the subject in a straightforward and lively manner. After reviewing the basic probability theory of classical thermodynamics, the author addresses the standard topics of statistical physics. The text demonstrates their relevance in other scientific fields using clear and explicit examples. Later chapters introduce phase transitions, critical phenomena and non-equilibrium phenomena.

The collection of topics in this book reflects the diversity of recent advances in nanoelements formation and interactions in nanosystems with a broad perspective that is useful for scientists as well as for graduate students and engineers. One of the main tasks in making nanocomposites is building the dependence of the structure and shape of the nanoelements, forming the basis for the composite of their sizes. This is because with an increase or a decrease in the specific size of nanoelements, their physical–mechanical properties such as the coefficient of elasticity, strength, and deformation parameter, vary by over one order. The calculations show that this is primarily due to a significant rearrangement of the atomic structure and the shape of the nanoelement. The investigation of the above parameters of the nanoelements is technically complicated and laborious because of their small sizes. When the characteristics of powder nanocomposites are calculated, it is also very important to take into account the interaction of the nanoelements since the changes in their original shapes and sizes in the interaction process and during the formation of the nanocomposite can lead to a significant change in its properties and a cardinal structural rearrangement. In addition, the studies show the appearance of the processes of the ordering and self-assembling leading to a more organized form of a nanosystem. The above phenomena play an important role in nanotechnological processes. They allow nanotechnologies to be developed for the formation of nanostructures by the self-assembling method (which is based on self-organizing processes) and building up complex spatial nanostructures consisting of different nanoelements. The study of the above dependences based on the mathematical modeling methods requires the solution of the aforementioned problem at the atomic level. This requires large computational aids and computational time, which makes the development of economical calculation methods urgent. The objective of this volume is the development of such a technique in various nanosystems.

Nanoscale science, engineering, and technology—commonly referred to collectively as nanotechnology—is believed by many to offer extraordinary economic and societal benefits. Nanotechnology is generally defined as the ability to create and use materials, devices, and systems with unique properties at the scale of approximately 1 to 100 nm. Nanotechnology offers society the promise of major benefits, but also raises questions of potential adverse effects. The first volume covers pore size in carbon-based nano-adsorbents, resulting in materials that exhibit unique sorptive properties with a general view of the recent activities on the study of pore structure control. The collection of topics in volume 2 reflects the diversity of recent advances in nanoelements formation and interactions in nanosystems with a broad perspective that will be useful for scientists and engineers as the use of nanotechnology in the consumer and industrial sectors is expected to increase significantly in the future. And the third volume discusses important issues and trends related to research strategy in mechanics of carbon nanotubes.