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" ("matiere 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."

The study of capillarity is in the midst of a veritable explosion. What is offered here is not a comprehensive review of the latest research but rather a compendium of principles designed for the undergraduate student and for readers interested in the physics underlying these phenomena.

The study of capillarity is in the midst of a veritable explosion. Hence the temptation to write a new book, aiming at an audience of students. What is offered here is not a comprehensive review of the latest research but rather a compendium of principles. How does one turn a hydrophilic surface into one that is hydrophobic, and vice versa? We will describe a few solutions. Some rely on chemical treatments, such as coating a surface with a molecular layer. Others are based on physics, for instance by controlling the roughness of a surface. We will also examine the dynamics of wetting. Drops that spread spontaneously do so at a rate that slows down with time. They can be tricked into covering large areas by spreading them suddenly. We will describe a few of the many facets of their dynamical properties. Special additives are required for water to foam. Foams are desirable in a shampoo but can be a nightmare in a dishwasher detergent. Antifoam agents have been developed and are well known, but how do they work? It is also possible to generate bubbles and foams without special additives, for example in pure and viscous liquids such as glycerin, molten glass, and polymers. As we will see, the laws of draining and bursting then turn out to be quite different from the conventional ones. This book will enable the reader to understand in simple terms such questions that affect every day life -- questions that also come up during in industry. The aim is to view systems that often prove quite complex in a way that isolates a particular physical phenomenon, often avoiding descriptions requiring advanced numerical techniques will oftentimes in favor of qualitative arguments. This strategy may at times jeopardize scientific rigor, but it makes it possible to grasp things efficiently and to invent novel situations.

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 the 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, and so forth) 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 the 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, and so forth) are explained without heavy calculations, using simple scaling laws as the main tool.

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.

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.

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.

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.