New Edition: Simple Views on Condensed Matter (3rd Edition)
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 our 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, etc) are explained without heavy calculations — using simple scaling laws as the main tool.
Contents:
- Part I:
- Part II:
- Part III:
- Part IV:
- Part V:
- Part VI:
- Part VII:
Readership: Physicists, chemists, hydrodynamicists and materials scientists.
“This book surely satisfies the requirements of those interested in this field of Physics. On the whole I think that this book can give, especially to a young reader, a certain feeling about the enthusiam and novelty of condensed matter research during the last three decades.”
Il Nuovo Saggiatore, 2002
Reviews of the First Edition:
“This book collects a series of articles in which problems which had always been thought quite intractable are shown to be solved by simple, but clear thinking. Although the phrase “simple views” is justified by the clarity of de Gennes exposition, the problems had been unresolved for decades and it is a tribute to de Gennes' intuitive skill that he has been able to solve so many problems which are not only deep basic science, but also central in modern technology.”
Sam Edwards
Univ. Cambridge, UK, 1992
“For amateurs and connoisseurs — interested in physics, chemistry or biology — Pierre-Gilles de Gennes has opened his gentry-style 'cabinet de curiosités'. Miscellaneous products of his inventive industry, including the famous and the unfamous, are brought together in this self-selected collection, accompanied with recent hindsightful remarks of the Nobel laureate.”
Gérard Toulouse
Ecole Normale Supérieure, France, 1992
“This volume of collected works of Pierre-Gilles de Gennes will be a valuable and stimulating source for many years to come for younger readers and for beginners in the subfields of condensed matter covered in this volume, as well as a useful and compact reference book for all workers in the field.”
Helmut R Brand
Advanced Materials, 1993
