The contributors to this volume study macroscopic flow properties and molecular mobility in complex liquids with high internal mobility and a highly anisotropic molecular shape. Particular attention is paid to the wide variety of experimental approaches, in theory as well as in computer simulation of these difficult but very important problems. The contributions are of interest to researchers in physics as well as in engineering and chemistry.

In the twenty years since their inception, modern dynamic light-scattering techniques have become increasingly sophisticated, and their applications have grown exceedingly diverse. Applications of the techniques to problems in physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and fluid mechanics have prolifer ated. It is probably no longer possible for one or two authors to write a monograph to cover in depth the advances in scattering techniques and the main areas in which they have made a major impact. This volume, which we expect to be the first of aseries, presents reviews of selected specialized areas by renowned experts. It makes no attempt to be comprehensive; it emphasizes a body of related applications to polymeric, biological, and colloidal systems, and to critical phenomena. The well-known monographs on dynamic light scattering by Berne and Pecora and by Chu were published almost ten years ago. They provided comprehensive treatments of the general principles of dynamic light scat tering and gave introductions to a wide variety of applications, but natu rally they could not treat the new applications and advances in older ones that have arisen in the last decade. The new applications include studies of interacting particles in solution (Chapter 4); scaling approaches to the dynamics of polymers, including polymers in semidilute solution (Chapter 5); the use of both Fabry-Perot interferometry and photon correlation spectroscopy to study bulk polymers (Chapter 6); studies of micelIes and microemulsions (Chapter 8); studies of polymer gels (Chapter 9)."

This volume is based on lectures given at the NATO-Advanced Study Institute on Structure and Dynamics of Polymer and Colloid Systems held in Les Houches, France from September 14-24, 1999. The meeting arose from a perceived need to bring together scientists studying the polymer and colloid fields. Although these fields are intertwined and share many techniques (e. g. , light, neutron and x-ray scattering), it is remarkable how little the approaches and concepts used by the one field penetrate the other. For instance, the theory of spherical colloids is very highly developed and many of the concepts developed for these systems can be extended to those with non-spherical morphology, such as solutions of rigid rod polymers. In addition, mixtures of polymers and colloids, both in the bulk and at interfaces, are the basis for many industrial products. Methods are now rapidly being developed for understanding the structure and dynamics in polymer/colloid mixtures at the molecular level, but the point of view of the colloid scientist is often rather different from that of the polymer scientist. The NATO-ASI brought together polymer and colloid scientists, including many young researchers, who presented and discussed recent developments in these fields and the possibilities for cross-fertilization This volume contains articles on a wide variety of topics at the research forefront of the polymer and colloid fields by some of the world's foremost experts at a level accessible to graduate students, post-docs and researchers.

This volume is based on lectures given at the NATO-Advanced Study Institute on Structure and Dynamics of Polymer and Colloid Systems held in Les Houches, France from September 14-24, 1999. The meeting arose from a perceived need to bring together scientists studying the polymer and colloid fields. Although these fields are intertwined and share many techniques (e. g. , light, neutron and x-ray scattering), it is remarkable how little the approaches and concepts used by the one field penetrate the other. For instance, the theory of spherical colloids is very highly developed and many of the concepts developed for these systems can be extended to those with non-spherical morphology, such as solutions of rigid rod polymers. In addition, mixtures of polymers and colloids, both in the bulk and at interfaces, are the basis for many industrial products. Methods are now rapidly being developed for understanding the structure and dynamics in polymer/colloid mixtures at the molecular level, but the point of view of the colloid scientist is often rather different from that of the polymer scientist. The NATO-ASI brought together polymer and colloid scientists, including many young researchers, who presented and discussed recent developments in these fields and the possibilities for cross-fertilization This volume contains articles on a wide variety of topics at the research forefront of the polymer and colloid fields by some of the world's foremost experts at a level accessible to graduate students, post-docs and researchers.

In the twenty years since their inception, modern dynamic light-scattering techniques have become increasingly sophisticated, and their applications have grown exceedingly diverse. Applications of the techniques to problems in physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and fluid mechanics have prolifer ated. It is probably no longer possible for one or two authors to write a monograph to cover in depth the advances in scattering techniques and the main areas in which they have made a major impact. This volume, which we expect to be the first of aseries, presents reviews of selected specialized areas by renowned experts. It makes no attempt to be comprehensive; it emphasizes a body of related applications to polymeric, biological, and colloidal systems, and to critical phenomena. The well-known monographs on dynamic light scattering by Berne and Pecora and by Chu were published almost ten years ago. They provided comprehensive treatments of the general principles of dynamic light scat tering and gave introductions to a wide variety of applications, but natu rally they could not treat the new applications and advances in older ones that have arisen in the last decade. The new applications include studies of interacting particles in solution (Chapter 4); scaling approaches to the dynamics of polymers, including polymers in semidilute solution (Chapter 5); the use of both Fabry-Perot interferometry and photon correlation spectroscopy to study bulk polymers (Chapter 6); studies of micelIes and microemulsions (Chapter 8); studies of polymer gels (Chapter 9)."