Lecturer: Prof. Haim Diamant
Affiliation: School of Chemistry,
Tel-Aviv University
Abstract:
A complex fluid (e.g., polymer solution) is
composed of mesoscopic structures
embedded in a molecular fluid. Over
sufficiently large distances any complex fluid
responds as a continuous medium,
characterized by bulk moduli. To us goo is just
goo, not a collection of complicated
structures inside water. But how large is
"sufficiently large"? We will focus on the role
of a distinctive dynamic length scale, which
was not recognized before. It defines an
intermediate region, over which the dynamic
correlations in the complex fluid qualitatively
differ from both the small-scale and large-
scale ones. As a result, the bulk behavior of
the material is pushed to distances much
larger than its small-scale structure. We will
discuss various manifestations of the
intermediate behavior in the dynamics of
complex fluids and of objects embedded in
them. We will mention possible implications
for amorphous solidification.