Live 3D Modeling with Colloids

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - 3:15pm - 4:30pm
Regents 109
Frans Spaepen
Harvard University

Colloidal particles in suspension form liquid, crystalline and glassy phases similar to those formed by atoms. Since the particles are “fat” (~1µm) and “slow” (~0.1s), they can be individually tracked in space and time by confocal microscopy. Dense colloidal systems therefore serve as “analog computers” to study the dynamics of defects in crystals (vacancies, stacking faults, dislocations, grain boundaries), crystal nucleation, crystal-liquid interfaces, and the fundamental mechanisms of the deformation of glasses.

Host: Daniel Blair
Discussion Leader: Daniel Blair