Institut für Theoretische Physik
You are here   >ITP >People >Members >Kroy
Page: Soft Condensed Matter Theory Group - Lectures

 Introduction to Hydrodynamics and Elasticity


spinodal decomposition of a protein solutionIn many active research activities in soft matter physics, biological physics, and the environmental sciences one meets problems that are characterized by a combination of elasticity, hydrodynamics, and statistical mechanics. Yet, the former two disciplines have essentially vanished from the physics curriculum and were delegated to mathematicians, engineers and other applied scientists, meaning that physicists usually regard their general structure as "established" and their solution as "too complicated". However, there are still some funny surprises that make the subject exiting for physicists looking for fundamental problems, apart from the mentioned interdisciplinary applications. I will try to convey some idea about where the basic equations of hydrodynamics and elasticity come from, what is amazing about them, and how they can be solved in some of the simplest cases. Some topics might be: diffusion eq., Euler eq., Navier-Stokes eq., hydrodynamic interactions, turbulent boundary layers, non-linear elasticity, rubber elasticity, beams, shells, viscoelasticity, viscoelastic tension propagation

Useful background: Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics

Manuscript for the intro (PDF)