Colloid Stories: Phases of Matter and Their Transformation

August 5, 2025
Stoney's British Pub

3007 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE

7:30pm

Arjun Yodh
University of Pennsylvania
“Colloid Stories: Phases of Matter and Their Transformation”
 

Colloids are suspensions of micron (or nanometer) size particles in water that we can directly observe in an optical microscope. The particles often self-assemble into traditional (and sometimes strange) phases of matter, and because we can see individual particles in the microscope, it is possible to directly visualize the mechanisms by which one phase transforms into another. In this talk, will show examples of some traditional (and unusual) colloidal phases, and I will show studies of their transformation. For example, I will show how crystals begin to melt, and I will show strange “intermediate” phases of matter that can sometimes arise in two dimensions, i.e., between crystals and liquids.