PH 416 Soft Matter Physics (Spring 2017-18)

PH 416 - Soft Matter Physics

Review 1
Instructor name: Anirban Sain

Course Type: Honours / Elective

Pre-requisites: Classical Mechanics I (EP 222 or equivalent), Statistical Physics (EP 320 or equivalent)

Course Content: Polymers (Freely Jointed Chain, Worm-Like Chain), Liquid Crystals (Isotropic Nematic Phase Transitions), Membranes (Curvatures, Surface Tension), Colloids

Books: "M. Doi, S.F. Edwards - The Theory of Polymer Dynamics", "Kleman, Lavrentovich - Soft Matter Physics"

Lectures:  Informal attendance policy, blackboard

Exams and Grading: One brief course project, requiring 6 hours of work instead of Quiz 2, Difficulty: Easy

 Pro-tips: Attend the classes and follow what the instructor asks you to do, Prof. Sain gives open book exams, you would not need to do an inch more than this.

Respondent: Kumar Ayush

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Review 2

Instructor Name: Anirban Sain

Course Type: Honours / Elective

Pre-requisites: Classical Mechanics, Statistical Physics

Course Content: Polymers, Liquid Crystals, Membranes, Colloids

Books: Mostly Papers recommended by Prof. Anirban Sain

Lectures: No real attendance policy, since course ran for the first time, only blackboard usage, lectures really well thought of and planned, teaching quality and explanation depth commendable

Assignments: biweekly assignments and 1 final presentation, pretty straightforward and enlightening!

Exams and Grading: assignments and project coupled with 2 quizzes, midsem+endsem

Online Resources: None really (Sir taught EVERYTHING in class)

Followup Courses: Biophysics (BB dept.)

Pro-Tips: Shootout to all of Prof. Anirban's fans like me, this is an amazing course if you like his teaching method.
Loads of good physics and basic applications in the course, coupled with interesting yet simple math
Useful not only for Bio enthusiasts but for anyone wishing to do a course where the prof. takes care of all learning

Personal Comments: Attend all lectures, you will miss this prof. after you pass out (I do!)
I audited the course just to get to sit in Anirban Sir's class!!!

Respondent: Sheetal Jain

Note: This is a review to help you make a more informed choice about how to study for this course and/or choosing this course. While we've tried to keep it objective and complete, one must keep in mind that students have varying interests, methods of study, and the course itself changes from year to year.