Kinetics of Phase Transitions

by Prof. Sanjay Puri (Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU))

Tuesday 7 Jul 2015, 16:00 → 17:00 Asia/Kolkata

AG69 (TIFR Colaba Campus)

Consider a system which is rendered thermodynamically unstable by a sudden change of parameters, e.g., temperature, pressure, etc. The system evolves towards its new equilibrium state via the emergence and growth of domains enriched in the preferred phase. Problems in this area of "kinetics of phase transitions" have received much research attention due to their wide applicability. In this talk, we review our understanding of this area. We conclude by discussing technologically relevant problems involving mixtures at surfaces, e.g., surface-directed spinodal decomposition, de-wetting, etc.