Biological & Soft Matter Seminar: Smectics!
Randall Kamien, University of Pennsylvania
21 March 2018, 11:10
Kaplun Building, Flexer Hall 118
Abstract:
Usually, crystals have three-dimensional periodicity. Smectic liquid crystals, however, have one-dimensional order, even in three-dimensional samples. These systems, as simple as they might seem, connect the physics of biomembranes, superconductivity, and even special relativity. I will provide an introduction for non-specialists and show how this diverse set of ideas come together in these very, very soft systems.