Soft Interfaces

Many of the distinctive and useful phenomena of soft matter come from its interaction with interfaces. Examples are the peeling of a strip of adhesive tape, the coating of a surface, the curling of a fiber via capillary forces, or the collapse of a porous sponge. These interfacial phenomena are distinct from the intrinsic behavior of a soft material like a gel or a microemulsion. Yet many forms of interfacial phenomena can be understood via common principles valid for many forms of soft matter. Our goal in organizing this school was to give students a grasp of these common principles and their many ramifications and possibilities. The Les Houches Summer School comprised over fifty 90-minute lectures over four weeks. Four four-lecture courses by Howard Stone, Michael Cates, David Nelson and L. Mahadevan served as an anchor for the program. A number of shorter courses and seminars rounded out the school. This volume collects the lecture notes of the school.

Collection of selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2014 5th International Conference on Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Technologies (MIMT 2014), March 10-11, 2014, Penang, Malaysia. Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS). The 291 papers are grouped as follows: Chapter 1: Materials Science: Technology, Processing and Applied Research, Chapter 2: Electronics and Integrated Circuits, Electrical Engineering and Applications, Chapter 3: Mechanics, Tools and Mechanical Engineering: Technology, Design and Applied Research, Chapter 4: Power and Energy: Engineering and Applications, Chapter 5: Robots and Manipulators, Chapter 6: Control Systems, Chapter 7: Measurement, Testing, Monitoring, Detection: Technologies, Analysis and Methodology, Chapter 8: Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering: Management Applications

Volume V is the counterpart of Volume IV and treats hydrophilic colloids and related items. Contains edited contributions on steric stabilization, depletion, polyelectrolytes, proteins at interfaces, association colloids, microemulsions, thin films, foams and emulsions. J. Lyklema is coauthor of two chapters and general editor. Other authors include: G.J. Fleer, F.A.M. Leermakers, M.A. Cohen Stuart, W. Norde, J.A.G. Buijs, J.C. Eriksson, T.Sottmann, R. Strey, D. Platikanov, D. Ekserova, V.Bergeron and P.Walstra. * This volume completes the prestigious series Fundamentals of Interface and Colloid Science* Together with Volume IV this book provides a comprehensive introduction to colloid science.* Explains and elaborates phenomena starting from basic principles and progresses to more advanced topics

Soft material-enabled electronics offer distinct advantage, over conventional rigid and bulky devices, for numerous wearable and implantable applications. Soft materials allow for seamless integration with skin and tissues due to enhanced mechanical flexibility and stretchability. Wearable devices, such as sensors, offer continuous, real-time monitoring of biosignals and movements, which can be applied in rehabilitation and diagnostics, among other applications. Soft implantable electronics offer similar functionalities, but with improved compatibility with human tissues. Biodegradable soft implantable electronics are also being developed for transient monitoring, such as in the weeks following surgery. To further advance soft electronics, materials, integration strategies, and fabrication techniques are being developed. This paper reviews recent progress in these areas, toward the development of soft material-enabled electronics for medicine, healthcare, and human-machine interfaces.

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, one of the greatest physicists of the twentieth century, died in 1984. Dirac's college, St. John's of Cambridge, generously endowed annual lectures to be held at Cambridge University in his memory. This volume contains a much expanded version of the 1994 Dirac Lecture by Nobel Laureate Pierre Gilles de Gennes. The book presents an impressionistic tour of the physics of soft interfaces. Full of insight and interesting asides, it not only provides an accessible introduction to this topic, but also lays down many markers and signposts that will be of interest to researchers in physics or chemistry. Features discussions of wetting and dewetting, the dynamics of different types of interface and adhesion and polymer/polymer welding.

An impressionistic tour of the physics of soft interfaces by Nobel Laureate Pierre Gilles de Gennes.