Soft Matter: Volume 1: Polymer Melts and Mixtures

Gerhard Gompper, Michael Schick3-527-30500-9, 978-3-527-30500-1

Soft Matter encompasses a wide range of systems of varying components,including synthetic and biological polymers, colloids, and amphiphiles. The distinguishing features of these systems is their characteristic size, which is much larger than that of their atomic counterparts, and their characteristic energy, which is much smaller. Because of their ability to assemble themselves into complex structures, they form the major components of biological systems and technological applications.