Thin Liquid Films

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XVIII

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2. Dewetting

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Introduction

      • Ralf Blossey

      Pages 3-7

   3. Statistical Mechanics of Thin Films

      • Ralf Blossey

      Pages 9-47

   4. From Classical Liquids to Polymers

      • Ralf Blossey

      Pages 49-56

3. Polymer Flow

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 57-57

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   2. Hydrodynamics of Thin Viscous Films

      • Ralf Blossey

      Pages 59-87

   3. Viscoelastic Thin Films

      • Ralf Blossey

      Pages 89-115

   4. Conclusions and Outlook

      • Ralf Blossey

      Pages 117-126

4. Back Matter

   Pages 127-151

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This book is a treatise on the thermodynamic and dynamic properties of thin liquid films at solid surfaces and, in particular, their rupture instabilities. For the quantitative study of these phenomena, polymer thin films (sometimes referred to as “ultrathin”) have proven to be an invaluable experimental model system.
What is it that makes thin film instabilities special and interesting? First, thin polymeric films have an important range of applications. An understanding of their instabilities is therefore of practical relevance for the design of such films. The first chapter of the book intends to give a snapshot of current applications, and an outlook on promising future ones. Second, thin liquid films are an interdisciplinary research topic, which leads to a fairly heterogeneous community working on the topic. It justifies attempting to write a text which gives a coherent presentation of the field which researchers across their specialized communities might be interested in. Finally, thin liquid films are an interesting laboratory for a theorist to confront a well-established theory, hydrodynamics, with its limits. Thin films are therefore a field in which a highly fruitful exchange and collaboration exists between experimentalists and theorists.
The book stretches from the more concrete to more abstract levels of study: we roughly progress from applications via theory and experiment to rigorous mathematical theory. For an experimental scientist, the book should serve as a reference and guide to what is the current consensus of the theoretical underpinnings of the field of thin film dynamics. Controversial problems on which such a consensus has not yet been reached are clearly indicated in the text, as well as discussed in a final chapter. From a theoretical point of view, the field of dewetting has mainly been treated in a mathematically ‘light’ yet elegant fashion, often making use of scaling arguments. For the untrained researcher,this approach is not always easy to follow. The present book attempts to bridge between the ‘light’ and the ‘rigorous’, always with the ambition to enhance insight and understanding - and to not let go the elegance of the theory.

• Applications Polymeric Films
• Dewetting
• Fluctuations Thin Films
• Glass Transition Thin Films
• Hydrodynamics Limits Investigation
• Hydrodynamics Thin Films
• Mathematics Thin Film Equation
• Numerics Thin Film Equation
• Physics of Dewetting
• Polymer Thin Film
• Polymer Thin Films
• Polymer Ultrathin Film
• Polymer Ultrathin Films
• Theory Thin Film Instability
• Theory of Dewetting
• Thermodynamic Properties Thin Film
• Thermodynamic Property Thin Film
• Thin Film
• Thin Film Dewetting
• Thin Film Dynamics
• Thin Film Instability
• Thin Film Rupture
• Thin Film Solid Surface
• Thin Film Solid Surfaces
• Thin Films
• Thin Films Instability
• Thin Films Rupture
• Thin Liquid Film
• Thin Liquid Films
• Unstable Thin Film
• Unstable Thin Films
• Wetting and Dewetting

From the reviews:

“The text is spread over six chapters with appendices, lists of figures and symbols used, and bibliography. The appendices make the text self-sufficient. A useful aspect for graduate students is the inclusion of tasks in each chapter. … The text is very well written, and the concepts are laid down with clarity. The emphasis is on the reader to appreciate the subject … .” (S. C. Rajvanshi, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1255, 2013)

• , CNRS USR 3078, Institute de Recherche Interdisciplinair, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France

  Ralf Blossey

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