This much expanded version of the 1994 Cambridge lecture by Nobel Laureate Pierre Gilles de Gennes 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 new research possibilities. The text begins with a brief discussion of wetting and dewetting, and then moves on to consider the dynamics of different types of interfaces before considering adhesion and polymer/polymer welding. Recommended.

From the Text: “...From the point of view of soft interface physics, the present times are fortunate: centuries of empirical knowledge about `tribology' (friction) or `colloids' (ultradivided matter) can progressively be correlated to detailed structural data at the 10 angstrom level...I will insist on some general features of soft interfaces which were mentioned at the start: borders which can be mobile, diffuse, and active...”

Target Audience: Condensed matter physicists, polymer and materials scientists, physical chemists, chemical engineers, and any other reader interested in interfaces, wetting phenomena, and adhesion.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Geography and Explorations

Mobile Borders: The Dynamics of Wetting (or Dewetting)

Decorated Borders: Slippage Between a Solid and a Polymer Melt

Principles of Adhesion

Polymer/Polymer Welding

Conclusions

Appendix: Drag on a Tethered Chain Moving in a Polymer Melt

References