ESPCI web site
Soft Solids
If the word ``Soft Matter’’ is widely used in many recent research, it does not seem to have received a precise definition, except in implicit opposition with the solid state physics. One of the specific aspects of this ``Soft Matter’’ is the absence of sharp angles or edges. This refers to physical effects always neglected in solid mechanics : those of surface tension. These effects are characterized by a length scale which, in usual solids, is of molecular order.
In contrast, in soft materials, this length scale may go far beyond the molecular sizes and even become macroscopic. Thus, we have demonstrated the existence of a Rayleigh-Plateau instability of an elastic cylinder with a small enough diameter, with a good agreement between theory and experiment. Surface tension can also regularize the small-scale growth of the surface instability of a homogeneous elastic material subjected to compression.
This work was done in collaboration with Yves Pomeau.
Séminaires Gulliver : consulter le programme
Informations contextuelles :
Contact : mathilde.reyssat@espci.fr