Physics (Internal)

Wetting transitions and forces in adsorbed films: new phenomena and surprising results

This event is part of the Biophysics/Condensed Matter Seminar Series.

Abstract:
The wetting properties of liquids and soft-matter materials on surfaces are sensitive to minute atomic-scale forces. In this talk, we survey experiments that explore the interplay between phase transitions, dispersion forces, finite-size forces and wetting properties. The specific experiments discussed demonstrate: the existence of fluctuation-induced forces in helium films near the lambda point, fluctuation-induced forces in binary liquid mixture films near room temperature, and a new thick-thin coexistence phenomenon in liquid crystal films near room temperature. In this exciting, experimentally-driven area of research, theory typically lags experiment by 5-8 years. Thus, older experiments are understood in excruciating detail, whereas about most recent experiments we hardly have a clue!