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  • Book
  • © 1996

Fragile Objects

Soft Matter, Hard Science, and the Thrill of Discovery

Authors:

  1. Pierre-Gilles Gennes
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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Jacques Badoz
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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
    PDF

  2. Soft Matter

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
      PDF

    2. The Indian Boot and Mr. Goodyear

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 3-6

    3. The Noodle Soup

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 7-17

    4. The Tubeless Siphon and the Runaway Boat

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 18-28

    5. The Egyptian Scribe, Arabic Gum, and Chinese Ink

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 29-39

    6. Liquid Crystals and the School of Fish

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 40-51

    7. On the Surface of Things: Wetting and Dewetting

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 52-69

    8. Bubbles and Foams

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 70-88

    9. Fragile Objects

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 89-91

  3. Research

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 93-93
      PDF

    2. Profession: Research Scientist

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 95-107

    3. Discovery

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 108-121

    4. A Positive Science

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 122-129

    5. The Environment

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 130-140

  4. Education

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 141-141
      PDF

    2. A Pedagogy for the Real World

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 143-157

    3. The Imperialism of Mathematics

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 158-165

    4. A Little Oxygen

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 166-171

    5. New Banners

      • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Jacques Badoz
      Pages 172-175
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About this book

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.
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Keywords

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Reviews

"...a pleasure to read ...and quite informative, at an elementary level, about a subject matter which is assuming increasing importance" - Australian & New Zealand Physicist
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Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Fragile Objects

  • Book Subtitle: Soft Matter, Hard Science, and the Thrill of Discovery

  • Authors: Pierre-Gilles Gennes, Jacques Badoz

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2410-5

  • Publisher: Copernicus New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. 1996

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4612-7528-2Published: 17 September 2011

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4612-2410-5Published: 06 December 2012

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVI, 189

  • Additional Information: Original French edition published by Librairie Plon, Paris, 1994

  • Topics: Condensed Matter Physics, Physical Chemistry

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Buy it now

eBook USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

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