Pierre-Gilles de Gennes – författare

As I glance out my window in the early morning, I can see beads of droplets gracing a spider web. The film of dew that has settled on the threads is unstable and breaks up spontaneously into droplets. This phenomenon has implications for the treatment of textile fibers (the process known as "oiling"), glass, and carbon. It is no less important when applying mascara! I take my morning shower. The moment I step out, I dry off by way of evaporation (which makes me feel cold) and by dewetting (the process by which dry areas form spontaneously and expand on my skin). As I rush into my car under a pelting rain, my attention is caught by small drops stuck on my windshield. I also notice larger drops rolling down and others larger still that, like snails, leave behind them a trail of water. I ask myself what the difference is between these rolling drops and grains of sand tumbling down an incline. I wonder why the smallest drops remain stuck. The answers to such questions do help car manufacturers treat the surface of glass and adjust the tilt of windshields.

As I glance out my window in the early morning, I can see beads of droplets gracing a spider web. The film of dew that has settled on the threads is unstable and breaks up spontaneously into droplets. This phenomenon has implications for the treatment of textile fibers (the process known as "oiling"), glass, and carbon. It is no less important when applying mascara! I take my morning shower. The moment I step out, I dry off by way of evaporation (which makes me feel cold) and by dewetting (the process by which dry areas form spontaneously and expand on my skin). As I rush into my car under a pelting rain, my attention is caught by small drops stuck on my windshield. I also notice larger drops rolling down and others larger still that, like snails, leave behind them a trail of water. I ask myself what the difference is between these rolling drops and grains of sand tumbling down an incline. I wonder why the smallest drops remain stuck. The answers to such questions do help car manufacturers treat the surface of glass and adjust the tilt of windshields.

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 for interesting new research possibilities. The text begins with a brief discussion of wetting and dewetting and then goes on to consider the dynamics of different types of interface before considering adhesion and polymer/polymer welding.

This book, based on lectures given at the Polytechnic of Milan, gives a broad overview of the field of polymer dynamics. In these lectures the aim is to stress the fundamental concepts of the behaviour of polymers without drawing on the more advanced mathematical formalism which often obscures the natural elegance of the subject matter. Professor De Gennes is one of the most distinguished workers in the field of material science. Therefore this book will be welcomed by both the experienced researcher in the area and the interested layman. It will be of particular value to graduate students.

As I glance out my window in the early morning, I can see beads of droplets gracing a spider web. The film of dew that has settled on the threads is unstable and breaks up spontaneously into droplets. This phenomenon has implications for the treatment of textile fibers (the process known as "oiling"), glass, and carbon. It is no less important when applying mascara! I take my morning shower. The moment I step out, I dry off by way of evaporation (which makes me feel cold) and by dewetting (the process by which dry areas form spontaneously and expand on my skin). As I rush into my car under a pelting rain, my attention is caught by small drops stuck on my windshield. I also notice larger drops rolling down and others larger still that, like snails, leave behind them a trail of water. I ask myself what the difference is between these rolling drops and grains of sand tumbling down an incline. I wonder why the smallest drops remain stuck. The answers to such questions do help car manufacturers treat the surface of glass and adjust the tilt of windshields.

Over the past few decades we have learned a great deal about the behavior of such materials as liquid crystals, emulsions and colloids, polymers, and complex molecules. These materials, called "soft matter" ("matière fragile" in French), have neither the rigid structure and crystalline symmetry of a solid nor the uniformity and disorder of a fluid or a gas. They have unusual and fascinating properties: some change their viscosity at our beck and call; others form layers of two-dimensional liquids; some are polarized, their molecules all oriented in the same direction and turning in unison at our command; others make up the foams, bubbles, waxes, gums, and many other items we take for granted every day. De Gennes, one of the world''s leading experts on these strange forms of matter, here addresses topics ranging from soft-matter physics - the formation of rubber, the nature and uses of gum arabic, the wetting and de-wetting of surfaces, and the mysterious properties of bubbles and foams - to the activities of science: the role of individual or team work, the relation of discovery to correction, and the interplay of conscience and knowledge. In the best tradition of science writing, this book teaches us about both our world and ourselves.

Over the past few decades we have learned a great deal about the behavior of such materials as liquid crystals, emulsions and colloids, polymers, and complex molecules. These materials, called "soft matter" ("matière fragile" in French), have neither the rigid structure and crystalline symmetry of a solid nor the uniformity and disorder of a fluid or a gas. They have unusual and fascinating properties: some change their viscosity at our beck and call; others form layers of two-dimensional liquids; some are polarized, their molecules all oriented in the same direction and turning in unison at our command; others make up the foams, bubbles, waxes, gums, and many other items we take for granted every day. De Gennes, one of the world's leading experts on these strange forms of matter, here addresses topics ranging from soft-matter physics - the formation of rubber, the nature and uses of gum arabic, the wetting and de-wetting of surfaces, and the mysterious properties of bubbles and foams - to the activities of science: the role of individual or team work, the relation of discovery to correction, and the interplay of conscience and knowledge. In the best tradition of science writing, this book teaches us about both our world and ourselves.

This volume contains a selection of important papers by P-G de Gennes (1991 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics) which have had a long-lasting impact on our understanding of condensed matter (solid state physics, liquid crystals, polymers, interfaces, wetting and adhesion). A typical example is the original article on “reptation” of polymer chains. The author has added some “afterthoughts” to the main papers (explaining their successes or weaknesses), and some current views on each special problem. Complex systems (polymers or granular matters, etc) are explained without heavy calculations — using simple scaling laws as the main tool.

This volume contains a selection of important papers by P-G de Gennes (1991 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics) which have had a long-lasting impact on our understanding of condensed matter (solid state physics, liquid crystals, polymers, interfaces, wetting and adhesion). A typical example is the original article on “reptation” of polymer chains. The author has added some “afterthoughts” to the main papers (explaining their successes or weaknesses), and some current views on each special problem. Complex systems (polymers or granular matters, etc) are explained without heavy calculations — using simple scaling laws as the main tool.

This volume is a selection of invaluable papers by P-G de Gennes — 1991 Nobel Prize winner in Physics — which have had a long-lasting impact on our understanding of condensed matter. Important ideas on polymers, liquid crystals and interfaces are described. The author has added some afterthoughts to the main papers (explaining their successes or weaknesses), and some current views on each special problem. The text is simple and easy to read.

This volume is a selection of invaluable papers by P-G de Gennes — 1991 Nobel Prize winner in Physics — which have had a long-lasting impact on our understanding of condensed matter. Important ideas on polymers, liquid crystals and interfaces are described. The author has added some afterthoughts to the main papers (explaining their successes or weaknesses), and some current views on each special problem. The text is simple and easy to read.

In this fascinating book, Nobel Prize winner Pierre-Gilles de Gennes wittily captures the lives of personalities from both the academic and the industrial world in delightful bite-size stories. Most of the characters in this collection are like those in Aesop's fables, but in modern-day research settings. The book provides a critical account of aberrations (fortunately rare) of the scientific community. Many lessons can be drawn from the stories. For the young researcher, this book is like a telescope: for seeing other human beings beyond his or her laboratory. For the administrator, this book is like a microscope: for seeing inside the human beings huge and complex structures. However, like Aesop's fables, you would not offer the book as a gift to anyone other than a close and wise friend.Petit Point is not a book to be devoured in a single sitting. It is one to be savored and reflected upon — it shows what the world may be like and what we ourselves may become. It is like a mirror — to be visited from time to time.

The works of the 1991 Nobel prize winner in Physics, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, have transformed condensed matter physics. Over the last three decades, he has left his indelible mark on an astonishing variety of condensed matter topics — magnets, superconductors, liquid crystals, polymers, interfaces, wetting and adhesions, and chirality. In doing so, he has bridged the gap between solid state physics and physical chemistry, and has forged close links between experimentalists and theoreticians.In awarding him the 1991 Nobel prize for his theoretical studies on liquid crystals and polymers, the Nobel foundation has paid tribute to his undoubted genius in discovering mathematical simplicity and elegance in the most complex and “messy” of systems. His deep insights into these fields have enabled others to exploit liquid crystals in technology and have paved the way for physicists to work on polymers.SIMPLE VIEWS ON CONDENSED MATTER presents a personal selection of the major works of de Gennes. It comes complete with afterthoughts by the author on his main papers, explaining their successes or weaknesses, and the current views on each special problem. This collector's volume contains all the important works of de Gennes which have made a lasting impact on our understanding of condensed matter, and serves as an essential reference book for all condensed matter physicists and physical chemists. It also bears testimony to the genius of a remarkable man, and should be a source of inspiration for aspiring scientists around the world.