APN 586 Polymer Science
(1) Review of probability theory, thermal physics, fluid dynamics at low Reynolds number, and diffusion and random walks, (2) single polymer chains, flexible polymers, semiflexible polymers, Kuhn length, persistence length, excluded volume effect, (3) polymers in good solutions, dilute solutions, overlap concentration, semi-dilute regime, blobs, theta solvents, (4) polymer melts and gels, (5) Flory-Huggins theory and mixing and demixing in polymer solutions and blends, (6) polyelectrolytes, Manning condensation, double layer, Debye-Huckel theory, electrostatic screening and the Debye length, (7) Polymer dynamics, Rouse model, Hydrodynamic interaction and Zimm model, dynamics in entangled melts, Edwards tube model, reptation, rheology of polymer solutions