Publication List

Scientific Papers

54)Understanding the Low-Frequency Quasilocalized Modes in Disordered Colloidal Systems
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 108 095501 (2012)
Tan P, Xu N, Schofield AB, Xu L
Abstract
In disordered colloidal systems, we experimentally measure the normal modes with the covariance matrix method and clarify the origin of low-frequency quasilocalization at the single-particle level. We observe important features from both jamming and glass simulations: There is a plateau in the density of states [D(ω)] which is suppressed upon compression, as predicted by jamming; within the same systems, we also find that the low-frequency quasilocalization originates from the large vibrations of defective structures coupled with transverse excitations, consistent with a recent glass simulation. The coexistence of these features demonstrates an experimental link between jamming and glass. Extensive simulations further show that such a structural origin of quasilocalization is universally valid for various temperatures and volume fractions.
pdf version of paper

53)Non-crystalline colloidal clusters in two dimensions: size distributions and shapes
SOFT MATTER 8 2924-2929 (2012)
Janai E, Schofield AB, Sloutskin E
Abstract
Cluster formation in many-body systems is very common, yet still not fully understood. We employ direct confocal microscopy to measure the size distribution and reconstruct the shapes of permanent gel clusters formed by sticky colloidal spheres in a two-dimensional (2D) suspension; the linear dimensions of the clusters are then measured by their radii of gyration Rg. We compare these non-ergodic clusters with the short-lived clusters, which reversibly form and deform, in a thermodynamically-equilibrated system of spherical colloids which interact solely by repulsions. Surprisingly, a similar behavior is observed for both types of clusters. In both cases, the average Rg of large clusters consisting of M particles scales as 〈R_g〉~M^1/2, which indicates that these clusters are solid, while the smaller clusters are much more ramified. A simple lattice model with a single free parameter quantitatively describes this complex behavior of 〈R_g(M)〉. The experimental size distribution P(M) of our clusters is a (truncated) power law M^~α, where the index α scales with colloid density and depends on the interparticle interactions. Strikingly, the observed behavior cannot be described by the common theoretical models which predict shorter correlation lengths and a density-independent value of a; thus, further theoretical efforts are necessary to fully understand the physics of clustering in this simple and fundamental system.
pdf version of paper

52) Fluid Suspensions of Colloidal Ellipsoids: Direct Structural Measurements
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 107 article 238301 (2011)
Cohen AP, Janai E, Mogilko E, Schofield AB, Sloutskin E
Abstract
A fluid of spheroids, ellipsoids of revolution, is among the simplest models of the disordered matter, where positional and rotational degrees of freedom of the constituent particles are coupled. However, while highly anisometric rods, and hard spheres, were intensively studied in the last decades, the structure of a fluid of spheroids is still unknown.We reconstruct the structure of a simple fluid of spheroids, employing direct confocal imaging of colloids, in three dimensions. The ratio t between the polar axis and the equatorial diameter for both our prolate and oblate spheroids is not far from unity, which gives rise to a delicate interplay between rotations and translations. Strikingly, the measured positional interparticle correlations are significantly stronger than theoretically predicted, indicating that further theoretical attention is required, to fully understand the coupling between translations and rotations in these fundamental fluids.
pdf version of paper

51) Hindered Coarsening of a Phase-Separating Microemulsion Due to Dispersed Colloidal Particles
LANGMUIR 27 Pages 13436-13443 (2011)
van’t Zand DD, Schofield AB, Thijssen JHJ, Clegg PS
Abstract The addition of sterically stabilized colloidal particles to a phase-separating microemulsion leads to dramatic changes in its demixing behavior, especially during the later stages. Our microemulsion is composed of reverse micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate, pentanol, and water in a dodecane continuous phase which separates into micelle-rich and micelle poor phases above a lower critical solution temperature. The poly(methyl methacrylate) particles preferentially partition into the less structured, micelle-poor phase. Nucleation of the minority phase or spinodal decomposition close to criticality continue to occur in the presence of particles, albeit with pronounced pretransitional clustering of particles when the micelle-poor phase is in the minority. The coalescence of micelle-poor droplets and the coarsening of micelle-rich domains are both strongly modified due to the presence of colloidal particles. We use our observations of the early stages of phase separation to understand these late stage changes.
pdf version of paper

50) A Self-Quenched Defect Glass in a Colloid-Nematic Liquid Crystal Composite
SCIENCE 334 Pgs 79-83 (2011)
Wood TA, Lintuvuori JS, Schofield AB, Marenduzzo D, Poon WCK
Abstract Colloidal particles immersed in liquid crystals frustrate orientational order. This generates defect lines known as disclinations. At the core of these defects, the orientational order drops sharply. We have discovered a class of soft solids, with shear moduli up to 104 pascals, containing high concentrations of colloidal particles (volume fraction φ≥20%) directly dispersed into a nematic liquid crystal. Confocal microscopy and computer simulations show that the mechanical strength derives from a percolated network of defect lines entangled with the particles in three dimensions. Such a “self-quenched glass” of defect lines and particles can be considered a self-organized analog of the “vortex glass” state in type II superconductors.
pdf version of paper Supplimentary Information

49) How do (fluorescent) surfactants affect particle-stabilized emulsions?
SOFT MATTER 7 Pgs 7965-7968 (2011)
Thijssen JHJ, Schofield AB, Clegg P

Abstract
We present the first confocal-microscopy study of synergistic effects in emulsions stabilized by both colloidal particles and a common fluorescent dye that acts as a surfactant. In situ microscopic imaging reveals surfactant adsorption onto the liquid–liquid interface and onto the colloidal particles, which changes the interfacial tension and the particle contact angle. This leads to emulsions that are more stable, more polydisperse and can incorporate more of the dispersed phase.
pdf version of paper

48) Novel, Robust, and Versatile Bijels of Nitromethane, Ethanediol, and Colloidal Silica: Capsules, Sub-Ten-Micrometer Domains, and Mechanical Properties
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS 21 Pgs 2020-2027 (2011)
Tavacoli JW, Thijssen JHJ, Schofield AB, Clegg PS

Abstract
Bicontinuous, interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels) are a class of soft solid materials in which interpenetrating domains of two immiscible fluids are stabilized by an interfacial colloidal monolayer. Such structures form through the arrest of the spinodal decomposition of an initially single-phase liquid mixture containing a colloidal suspension. With the use of hexalmethyldisilazane, the wetting character of silica colloids, ranging in size and dye content, can be modified for fabricating a novel bijel system comprising the binary liquid ethanediol–nitromethane. Unlike the preceding water-lutidine based system, this bijel is stable at room temperature and its fabrication and resultant manipulation are comparatively straightforward. The new system has facilitated three advancements: firstly, we use sub 100 nm silica particles to stabilize the first bijel made from low molecular weight liquids that has domains smaller than ten micrometers. Secondly, our new and robust bijel permits qualitative rheological work which reveals the bijel to be significantly elastic and self healing whilst its domains are able to break, reform and locally rearrange. Thirdly, we encapsulate the ethanediol–nitromethane bijel in Pickering drops to form novel particle-stabilized bicontinuous multiple emulsions that we christen bijel capsules. These emulsions are stimuli responsive – they liberate their contained materials in response to changes in temperature and solvency, and hence they show potential for controlled release applications.

pdf version of paper

47) Inversion of particle-stabilized emulsions of partially miscible liquids by mild drying of modified silica particles
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE 359 Pgs 126-135 (2011)
White KA, Schofield AB, Wormald P, Tavacoli JW, Binks BP, Clegg PS

Abstract
Using a system of modified silica particles and mixtures of water and 2,6-lutidine to form particle-stabilized emulsions, we show that subtle alterations to the hydration of the particle surface can cause major shifts in emulsion structure. We use fluorescence confocal microscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) to explore this sensitivity, along with other shifts caused by modifications to the silica surface chemistry. The silica particles are prepared by a variant of the Stober procedure and are modified by the inclusion of 3-(aminopropyl)triethoxysilane and the dye fluorescein isothiocyanate. Treatment prior to emulsification consists of gently drying the particles under carefully controlled conditions. In mixtures of water and 2,6-lutidine of critical composition, the particles stabilize droplet emulsions and bijels. Decreasing particle hydration yields an inversion of the emulsions from lutidine-in-water (L/W) to water-in-lutidine (W/L), with bijels forming around inversion. So dependent is the emulsion behavior on particle hydration that microscopic differences in drying within a particle sample can cause differences in the wetting behavior of that sample, which helps to stabilize multiple emulsions. The formation of bijels at emulsion inversion is also crucially dependent on the surface modification of the silica.

pdf version of paper

46) Direct Experimental Evidence Of Growing Dynamic Length Scales In Confined Colloidal Liquids
Sarangapani PS, Schofield AB, and Zhu Y
PHYSICAL REVIEW E 83 article number 030502 (2011)

Abstract
The modification of the glass transition in confined domains, particularly the length scales associated with cooperative motion, remains a mystery. Hard-sphere suspensions are confined between two surfaces to progressively smaller dimensions to probe the confinement effect on the growth of dynamic heterogeneities via confocal microscopy. The confinement length scale is defined as the critical spacing where deviations from bulk behaviors begin and is observed to occur at progressively larger gap spacings as the volume fraction is increased. However, dynamic length scales extracted from the four-point correlation function are on average smaller than the confinement length scale.

pdf version of paper

45) Synthesis and Directed Self-Assembly of Patterned Anisometric Polymeric Particles
Zhang Z, Pfleiderer P, Schofield AB, Clasen C, Vermant J
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 133 392–39 (2011)

Abstract
A simple and versatile method for making chemically patterned anisotropic colloidal particles is proposed and demonstrated for two different types of patterning. Using a combination of thermo/mechanical stretching followed by a wet chemical treatment of a sterically stabilized latex, both patchy ellipsoidal particles with sticky interactions near the tips as well as particles with tunable fluorescent patterns could be easily produced. The potential of such model colloidal particles is demonstrated, specifically for the case of directed self-assembly.

pdf version and supplementary information

44) Quantitative Imaging Of Concentrated Suspensions Under Flow
Isa L, Besseling R, Schofield AB, Poon WCK
ADVANCES IN POLYMER SCIENCE 236 Pgs 163-202 (2010)

Abstract
We review recent advances in imaging the flow of concentrated suspensions, focussing on the use of confocal microscopy to obtain time-resolved information on the single-particle level in these systems. After motivating the need for quantitative (confocal) imaging in suspension rheology, we briefly describe the particles, sample environments, microscopy tools and analysis algorithms needed to perform this kind of experiments. The second part of the review focusses on microscopic aspects of the flow of concentrated model hard-sphere-like suspensions, and the relation to non-linear rheological phenomena such as yielding, shear localization, wall slip and shear-induced ordering. Both Brownian and non-Brownian systems will be described. We show how quantitative imaging can improve our understanding of the connection between microscopic dynamics and bulk flow.

A pdf version of the paper may be found by clicking on the link

43) Orders-Of-Magnitude Performance Increases In GPU-Accelerated Correlation Of Images From The International Space Station
Lu PJ, Oki H, Frey CA, Chamitoff GE, Chiao L, Fincke EM, Foale CM, Magnus SH, McArthur WS, Tani DM, Whitson PA, Williams JN, Meyer WV, Sicker RJ, Au BJ, Christiansen M, Schofield AB, Weitz DA
JOURNAL OF REAL-TIME IMAGE PROCESSING 5 Pgs 179-193 (2010)

Abstract
We implement image correlation, a fundamental component of many real-time imaging and tracking systems, on a graphics processing unit (GPU) using NVIDIA’s CUDA platform. We use our code to analyze images of liquid-gas phase separation in a model colloid-polymer system, photographed in the absence of gravity aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Our GPU code is 4,000 times faster than simple MATLAB code performing the same calculation on a central processing unit (CPU), 130 times faster than simple C code, and 30 times faster than optimized C++ code using single-instruction, multipledata (SIMD) extensions. The speed increases from these parallel algorithms enable us to analyze images downlinked from the ISS in a rapid fashion and send feedback to astronauts on orbit while the experiments are still being run.

pdf version of paper

42) Arrested fluid-fluid phase separation in depletion systems: Implications of the characteristic length on gel formation and rheology
Conrad JC, Wyss HM, Trappe V, Manley S, Miyazaki K, Kaufman LJ, Schofield AB, Reichman DR, Weitz DA
JOURNAL OF RHEOLOGY 54 Pgs 421-438 (2010)

Abstract
We investigate the structural, dynamical, and rheological properties of colloid-polymer mixtures in a volume fraction range of φ=0.15–0.35. Our systems are density-matched, residual charges are screened, and the polymer-colloid size ratio is ∼ 0.37. For these systems, the transition to kinetically arrested states, including disconnected clusters and gels, coincides with the fluid-fluid phase separation boundary. Structural investigations reveal that the characteristic length, L, of the networks is a strong function of the quench depth: for shallow quenches, L is significantly larger than that obtained for deep quenches. By contrast, L is for a given quench depth almost independent of φ this indicates that the strand thickness increases with φ. The strand thickness determines the linear rheology: the final relaxation time exhibits a strong dependence on φ, whereas the high frequency modulus does not. We present a simple model based on estimates of the strand breaking time and shear modulus that semiquantitatively describes the observed behavior.

pdf version of paper

41) Drying of Complex Suspensions
Xu L, Bergès A, Lu PJ, Studart AR, Schofield AB, Oki H, Davies S, Weitz DA
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 104 article 128303 (2010)

Abstract
We investigate the 3D structure and drying dynamics of complex mixtures of emulsion droplets and colloidal particles, using confocal microscopy. Air invades and rapidly collapses large emulsion droplets, forcing their contents into the surrounding porous particle pack at a rate proportional to the square of the droplet radius. By contrast, small droplets do not collapse, but remain intact and are merely deformed. A simple model coupling the Laplace pressure to Darcy’s law correctly estimates both the threshold radius separating these two behaviors, and the rate of large-droplet evacuation. Finally, we use these systems to make novel hierarchical structures.

pdf version of paper

40) Dynamic Light Scattering Measurements In The Activated Regime Of Dense Colloidal Hard Spheres
El Masri D, Brambilla G, Pierno M, Petekidis G, Schofield AB, Berthier L, Cipelletti L
JOURNAL OF STATISTICAL MECHANICS: THEORY AND EXPERIMENT P07015 (2009)

Abstract
We use dynamic light scattering and numerical simulations to study the approach to equilibrium and the equilibrium dynamics of systems of colloidal hard spheres over a broad range of densities, from dilute systems up to very concentrated suspensions undergoing glassy dynamics. We discuss several experimental issues (sedimentation, thermal control, non-equilibrium ageing effects, dynamic heterogeneity) arising when very large relaxation times are measured. When analyzed over more than seven decades in time, we find that the equilibrium relaxation time, τ_α, of our system is described by the algebraic divergence predicted by mode-coupling theory over a window of about three decades. At higher density, τ_α increases exponentially with distance to a critical volume fraction φ₀, which is much larger than the mode-coupling singularity. This is reminiscent of the behavior of molecular glass-formers in the activated regime. We compare these results to previous work, carefully discussing crystallization and size polydispersity effects. Our results suggest the absence of a genuine algebraic divergence of τ_α in colloidal hard spheres.

pdf version of paper

39) Particle Dynamics In Colloidal Suspensions Above And Below The Glass-Liquid Re-entrance Transition
Latka A, Han Y, Alsayed AM, Schofield AB, Yodh AG, Habdas P
EPL 86 article 58001 (2009)

Abstract
We study colloidal particle dynamics of a model glass system using confocal and fluorescence microscopy as the sample evolves from a hard-sphere glass to a liquid with attractive interparticle interactions. The transition from hard-sphere glass to attractive liquid is induced by short-range depletion forces. The development of liquid-like structure is indicated by particle dynamics. We identify particles which exhibit substantial motional events and characterize the transition using the properties of these motional events. As samples enter the attractive liquid region, particle speed during these motional events increases by about one order of magnitude, and the particles move more cooperatively. Interestingly, colloidal particles in the attractive liquid phase do not exhibit significantly larger displacements than particles in the hard-sphere glass.

pdf version of paper

38) Passive And Active Microrheology Of Hard-Sphere Colloids
Wilson LG, Harrison AW, Schofield AB, Arlt J, Poon WCK
THE JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B 113(12) pgs 3806-3012 (2009)

Abstract
We performed passive and active microrheology using probe particles in a bath of well-characterized, model hard-sphere colloids in the fluid state over the whole range of volume fractions below the glass transition. The probe and bath particles have nearly the same size. Passive tracking of probe particles yields short-time self-diffusion coefficients. Comparison with literature data demonstrates that the interaction between probe and bath particles is hard-sphere-like. The short-time diffusivities yield one set of microviscosities as a function of volume fraction, which agrees with previous macrorheological measurements of the high-frequency viscosity of hard-sphere colloids. Using optical tweezers, we measure the force on a trapped probe particle as the rest of the sample is translated at constant velocity. This yields a second set of microviscosities at high Péclet numbers. These agree with previous macrorheological measurements of the high-shear viscosity of similar colloids, at shear-rates below the onset of shear-thickening.

pdf version of paper

37) Structure, Dynamics And Rheology Of Colloid-Polymer Mixtures: From Liquids To Gels
Laurati M, Petekidis G, Koumakis N, Cardinaux F, Schofield AB, Brader JM, Fuchs M, Egelhaaf SU
THE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS 130, 134907 (2009)

Abstract
We investigate the structural, dynamical, and viscoelastic properties of colloid-polymer mixtures at intermediate colloid volume fraction and varying polymer concentrations, thereby tuning the attractive interactions. Within the examined range of polymer concentrations, the samples varied from fluids to gels. In the liquid phase, an increasing correlation length of the density fluctuations when approaching the gelation boundary was observed by static light scattering and microscopy, indicating clustering and formation of space-spanning networks. Simultaneously, the correlation function determined by dynamic light scattering decays completely, indicating the absence of dynamical arrest. Clustering and formation of transient networks when approaching the gelation boundary is supported by significant changes in the viscoelastic properties of the samples. Upon increasing the polymer concentration beyond the gelation boundary, the rheological properties changed qualitatively again, now they are consistent with the formation of colloidal gels. Our experimental results, namely, the location of the gelation boundary as well as the elastic (storage) and viscous (loss) moduli, are compared to different theoretical models. These include consideration of the escape time as well as predictions for the viscoelastic moduli based on scaling relations and mode coupling theories.

pdf version

Copyright (2009) American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics The following article appeared in The Journal Of Chemical Physics 130, 134907 (2009) and may be found at Laurati et al

36)Probing The Equilibrium Dynamics Of Colloidal Hard Spheres Above The Mode-Coupling Glass Transition
Brambilla G, El Masri D, Pierno M, Berthier L, Cipelletti L, Petekidis G, Schofield AB
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 102 article 085703 (2009)

Abstract
We use dynamic light scattering and computer simulations to study equilibrium dynamics and dynamic heterogeneity in concentrated suspensions of colloidal hard spheres. Our study covers an unprecedented density range and spans seven decades in structural relaxation time, τ_α, including equilibrium measurements above φ_c, the location of the glass transition deduced from fitting our data to mode-coupling theory. Instead of falling out of equilibrium, the system remains ergodic above φ_c and enters a new dynamical regime where τ_α increases with a functional form that was not anticipated by previous experiments, while the amplitude of dynamic heterogeneity grows slower than a power law with τ_α, as found in molecular glass formers close to the glass transition.

pdf version

This paper has since generated some debate about its results and there has been published one comment upon them and a subsequent reply.

35)The Effect Of Curvature And Topology On Membrane Hydrodynamics
Henle Ml, McGorty R, Schofield AB, Dinsmore AD, Levine AJ
EPL 84(4) article 48001 (2008)

Abstract
We study the mobilities of point-like and extended objects (rods) on a spherical membrane to show how these quantities are modified in a striking manner by the curvature and topology of the membrane. We also present theoretical calculations and experimental measurements of the membrane fluid velocity field around a moving rod bound to the crowded interface of a water-in-oil droplet. By using different droplet sizes, membrane viscosities, and rod lengths, we show that the viscosity mismatch between the interior and exterior fluids leads to a suppression of the fluid flow on small droplets that cannot be captured by the flat-membrane predictions.

pdf version of paper

34)Influence Of Particle Composition And Thermal Cycling On Bijel Formation
White KA, Schofield AB, Binks BP, Clegg P.S.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS: CONDENSED MATTER 20 article 494223 (2008)

Abstract
Colloidal particles with appropriate wetting properties can become very strongly trapped at an interface between two immiscible fluids. We have harnessed this phenomenon to create a new class of soft materials with intriguing and potentially useful characteristics. The material is known as a bijel: bicontinuous interfacially-jammed emulsion gel. It is a colloid-stabilized emulsion with fluid-bicontinuous domains. The potential to create these gels was first predicted using computer simulations. Experimentally we use mixtures of water and 2,6-lutidine at the composition for which the system undergoes a critical demixing transition on warming. Colloidal silica, with appropriate surface chemistry, is dispersed while the system is in the single-fluid phase; the composite sample is then slowly warmed well beyond the critical temperature. The liquids phase separate via spinodal decomposition and the particles become swept up on the newly created interfaces. As the domains coarsen the interfacial area decreases and the particles eventually become jammed together. The resulting structures have a significant yield stress and are stable for many months. Here we begin to explore the complex wetting properties of fluorescently tagged silica surfaces in water–lutidine mixtures, showing how they can be tuned to allow bijel creation. Additionally we demonstrate how the particle properties change with time while they are immersed in the solvents.

pdf version of paper

33)Effects Of Shear Induced Crystallization On The Rheology And Ageing Of Hard Sphere Glasses
Koumakis N, Schofield AB, Petekidis G
SOFT MATTER 4 Pg 2008-2018 (2008)

Abstract
The rheological properties of highly concentrated suspensions of hard sphere particles are studied with particular reference to the rheological response of shear induced crystals. Using practically monodisperse hard spheres, we prepare shear induced crystals under oscillatory shear and examine their linear and non-linear mechanical responses in comparison with their glassy counterparts at the same volume fraction. It is evident, that shear induced crystallization causes a significant drop in the elastic and viscous moduli due to structural rearrangements that ease flow. For the same reason the critical (peak of G'') and crossover (overlap of G' and G'') strain are smaller in the crystal compared to the glass at the same volume fraction. However, when the distance from the maximum packing in each state is taken into account the elastic modulus of the crystal is found to be larger than the glass at the same free volume, suggesting a strengthened material due to long range order. Finally, shear induced crystals counter-intuitively exhibit similar rheological ageing to the glass (with a logarithmic increase of G'), indicating that the shear induced structure is not at thermodynamic equilibrium.

pdf version of paper

32)Dynamics Of Drying In 3D Porous Media
Xu L, Davies S, Schofield AB, Weitz DA
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 101 Article 094502 (2008)

Abstract
The drying dynamics in three dimensional porous media are studied with confocal microscopy. We observe abrupt air invasions in size from single particle to hundreds of particles. We show that these result from the strong flow from menisci in large pores to menisci in small pores during drying. This flow causes air invasions to start in large menisci and subsequently spread throughout the entire system. We measure the size and structure of the air invasions and show that they are in accord with invasion percolation. By varying the particle size and contact angle we unambiguously demonstrate that capillary pressure dominates the drying process.

pdf version of paper

31)Gelation Of Particles With Short-Range Attraction
Lu PJ, Zaccarelli E, Ciulla F, Schofield AB, Sciortino F, Weitz DA
NATURE 453 pg 499-503 (2008)

Abstract
Nanoscale or colloidal particles are important in many realms of science and technology. They can dramatically change the properties of materials, imparting solid-like behaviour to a wide variety of complex fluids. This behaviour arises when particles aggregate to form mesoscopic clusters and networks. The essential component leading to aggregation is an interparticle attraction, which can be generated by many physical and chemical mechanisms. In the limit of irreversible aggregation, infinitely strong interparticle bonds lead to diffusion-limited cluster aggregation (DLCA). This is understood as a purely kinetic phenomenon that can form solid-like gels at arbitrarily low particle volume fraction. Far more important technologically are systems with weaker attractions, where gel formation requires higher volume fractions. Numerous scenarios for gelation have been proposed, including DLCA, kinetic or dynamic arrest, phase separation, percolation and jamming. No consensus has emerged and, despite its ubiquity and significance, gelation is far from understood—even the location of the gelation phase boundary is not agreed on. Here we report experiments showing that gelation of spherical particles with isotropic, short-range attractions is initiated by spinodal decomposition; this thermodynamic instability triggers the formation of density fluctuations, leading to spanning clusters that dynamically arrest to create a gel. This simple picture of gelation does not depend on microscopic system-specific details, and should thus apply broadly to any particle system with short-range attractions. Our results suggest that gelation—often considered a purely kinetic phenomenon is in fact a direct consequence of equilibrium liquid–gas phase separation. Without exception, we observe gelation in all of our samples predicted by theory and simulation to phase separate; this suggests that it is phase separation, not percolation, that corresponds to gelation in models for attractive spheres.

pdf version of paper

30)Bicontinuous Emulsions Stabilized Solely By Colloidal Particles
Herzig EM, White KA, Schofield AB, Poon WCK, Clegg PS
NATURE MATERIALS 6 (12) Pg 966-971 (2007)

Abstract
Recent large-scale computer simulations suggest that it may be possible to create a new class of soft solids, called ‘bijels’, by stabilizing and arresting the bicontinuous interface in a binary liquid demixing via spinodal decomposition using particles that are neutrally wetted by both liquids. The interfacial layer of particles is expected to be semi-permeable; hence, if realized, these new materials would have many potential applications, for example, as micro-reaction media. However, the creation of bijels in the laboratory faces serious obstacles. In general, fast quench rates are necessary to bypass nucleation, so that only samples with limited thickness can be produced, which destroys the three dimensionality of the putative bicontinuous network. Moreover, even a small degree of unequal wettability of the particles by the two liquids can lead to ill-characterized, ‘lumpy’ interfacial layers and therefore irreproducible material properties. Here, we report a reproducible protocol for creating three-dimensional samples of bijel in which the interfaces are stabilized by essentially a single layer of particles. We demonstrate how to tune the mean interfacial separation in these bijels, and show that mechanically, they indeed behave as soft solids. These characteristics and their tunability will be of great value for microfluidic applications.

pdf version of paper

29)Spinodal Decomposition in a Model Colloid-Polymer Mixture in Microgravity
Bailey AE, Poon WCK, Christianson RJ, Schofield AB, Gasser U, Prasad V, Manley S, Segre PN, Cipelletti L, Meyer WV, Doherty MP, Sankaran S, Jankovsky AL, Shiley WL, Bowen JP, Eggers JC, Kurta C, Lorik T Jr, Pusey PN, Weitz DA
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 99 (20) Article 205701 (2007)

Abstract
We study phase separation in a deeply quenched colloid-polymer mixture in microgravity on the International Space Station using small-angle light scattering and direct imaging. We observe a clear crossover from early-stage spinodal decomposition to late-stage, interfacial-tension-driven coarsening. Data acquired over 5 orders of magnitude in time show more than 3 orders of magnitude increase in domain size, following nearly the same evolution as that in binary liquid mixtures. The late-stage growth approaches the expected linear growth rate quite slowly.

pdf version of paper

28)Three-dimensional imaging of colloidal glasses under steady shear
Besseling R, Weeks ER, Schofield AB, Poon WCK
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 99 (2): Art. No. 028301 (2007)

Abstract
Using fast confocal microscopy we image the three-dimensional dynamics of particles in a yielded hard-sphere colloidal glass under steady shear. The structural relaxation, observed in regions with uniform shear, is nearly isotropic but is distinctly different from that of quiescent metastable colloidal fluids. The inverse relaxation time and diffusion constant D, as functions of the local shear rate , show marked shear thinning with ∝ D ∝ over more than two decades in . In contrast, the global rheology of the system displays Herschel-Bulkley behavior. We discuss the possible role of large scale shear localization and other mechanisms in generating this difference.

pdf version of paper

27)Slow Dynamics and Aging in Colloidal Gels Studied by X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy
Fluerasu A, Moussaïd A, Madsen A, Schofield AB
PHYSICAL REVIEW E 76 article 010401(R) (2007)

Abstract
Slow, nonequilibrium dynamics during delayed sedimentation in a colloidal depletion gel was studied by x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. The intermediate scattering functions change during the process from stretched to compressed exponential decays, indicating a jamming transition toward full aging. A complex aging behavior follows this process; it is proposed that large-scale network deformations trigger an unjamming, leading to the final collapse of the gel.

pdf version of paper

26)Emulsification of Partially Miscible Liquids Using Colloidal Particles: Nonspherical and Extended Domain Structures
Clegg PS, Herzig EM, Schofield AB, Egelhaaf SU, Horozov TS, Binks BP, Cates ME, Poon WCK
LANGMUIR 23 Pg 5984-5994 (2007)

Abstract
We present microscopy studies of particle-stabilized emulsions with unconventional morphologies. The emulsions comprise pairs of partially miscible fluids and are stabilized by colloids. Alcohol-oil mixtures are employed; silica colloids are chemically modified so that they have partial wettability. We create our morphologies by two distinct routes: starting with a conventional colloid-stabilized emulsion or starting in the single-fluid phase with the colloids dispersed. In the first case temperature cycling leads to the creation of extended fluid domains built around some of the initial fluid droplets. In the second case quenching into the demixed region leads to the formation of domains which reflect the demixing kinetics. The structures are stable due to a jammed, semisolid, multilayer of colloids on the liquid-liquid interface. The differing morphologies reflect the roles in formation of the arrested state of heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation and spinodal decomposition. The latter results in metastable, bicontinuous emulsions with frozen interfaces, at least for the thin-slab samples, investigated here.

pdf version of paper

25)Noncentral Forces In Crystals Of Charged Colloids
Reinke D, Stark H, von Grünberg HH, Schofield AB, Maret G, Gasser U
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 98 article 038301 (2007)

Abstract
The elastic properties of fcc crystals consisting of charge stabilized colloidal particles are determined from real space imaging experiments using confocal microscopy. The normal modes and the force constants of the crystal are obtained from the fluctuations of the particles around their lattice sites using the equipartition theorem. We show that the Cauchy relation is not fulfilled and that only noncentral many-body forces can account for the elastic properties.

pdf version of paper

24)Hypersonic Acoustic Excitations in Binary Colloidal Crystals: Big Versus Small Hard Sphere Control
Tommaseo G, Petekidis G, Steffen W, Fytas G, Schofield AB, Stefanou N
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS 126 article 014707 (2007)

Abstract
The phononic band structure of two binary colloidal crystals, at hypersonic frequencies, is studied by means of Brillouin light scattering and analyzed in conjunction with corresponding dispersion diagrams of the single colloidal crystals of the constituent particles. Besides the acoustic band of the average medium, the authors' results show the existence of narrow bands originating from resonant multiple modes of the individual particles as well as Bragg-type modes due to the (short-range) periodicity. Strong interactions, leading to the occurrence of hybridization gaps, is observed between the acoustic band and the band of quadrupole modes of the particles that occupy the largest fractional volume of the mixed crystal; the effective radius is either that of the large (in the symmetric NaCl-type crystalline phase) or the small (in the asymmetric NaZn₁₃-type crystalline phase) particles. The possibility to reveal a universal behavior of the phononic band structure for different single and binary colloidal crystalline suspensions, by representing in the dispersion diagrams reduced quantities using an appropriate length scale, is discussed.

pdf version of paper

23)Slip, Yield and Bands in Colloidal Crystals Under Oscillatory Shear
Cohen I, Davidovitch B, Schofield AB, Brenner MP, Weitz DA
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 97 article 215502 (2006)

Abstract
We study dense colloidal crystals under oscillatory shear using a confocal microscope. At large strains the crystals yield and the suspension forms shear bands. The pure harmonic response exhibited by the suspension rules out the applicability of non linear rheology models typically used to describe shear banding in other types of complex fluids. Instead, we show that a model based on the coexistence of linerally responding phases of the colloidal suspension accounts for the observed flows. These results highlight a new use of oscillatory measurements in distinguishing the contribution of linear and nonlinear local rheology to a globally nonlinear material response.

pdf version of paper

22)Stable Jets Of Viscoelastic Fluids and Self-Assembled Cylindrical Capsules By Hydrodynamic Focusing
Edmond KV, Schofield AB, Marquez M, Rothstein JP, Dinsmore AD
LANGMUIR 22 Pg 9052-9056 (2006)

Abstract
We demonstrate formation of long-lived cylindrical jets of a viscoelastic fluid using hydrodynamic focusing. A solution of polyacrylamide in water is driven coaxially with immisible oil and subjected to strong extensional flow. At high flow rates, the aqueous phase forms jets that are 4-90µm in diameter and several centimeters long. The liquid surfaces of these jets are then used as templates for assembly of microspheres into novel rigid and hollow cylinders.

pdf version of paper

21)Fluids of Clusters in Attractive Colloids
Lu PJ, Conrad JC, Wyss HM, Schofield AB, Weitz DA
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 96 article 028306 (2006)

Abstract
We show that colloidal particles with attractive interactions induced by a non-adsorbing polymer exhibit a stable phase consisting of a fluid of clusters of particles. This phase persists even in the absence of any long-range repulsion due to charge, contrary to expectations based on simulation and theory. Cluster morphology depends strongly on the range of the interparticle attraction. With a shorter range, clusters are tenuous and branched; with a longer range they are more compact.

pdf version of paper

20)Colloid-stabilized emulsions: behaviour as the interfacial tension is reduced
Clegg PS, Herzig EM, Schofield AB, Horozov TS, Binks BP, Cates ME, Poon WCK
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-CONDENSED MATTER 17(45): S3433-S3438 (2005)

Abstract
We present confocal microscopy studies of novel particle-stabilized emulsions. The novelty arises because the immiscible fluids have an accessible upper critical solution temperature. The emulsions have been created by beginning with particles dispersed in the single-fluid phase. On cooling. regions of the minority phase nucleate. While coarsening, these nuclei become coated with particles due to the associated reduction in interfacial energy. The resulting emulsion is arrested, and the particle-coated interfaces have intriguing properties. Having made use of the binary-fluid phase diagram to create the emulsion we then make use of it to study the properties of the interfaces. As the emulsion is re-heated toward the single-fluid phase the interfacial tension falls and the volume of the dispersed phase drops. Crumpling, fracture or coalescence can follow. The results show that the elasticity of the interfaces has a controlling influence over the emulsion behaviour.

pdf version of paper

19) Stability of the Binary Colloidal Crystals AB₂ and AB₁₃
Schofield A.B., Pusey P.N., Radcliffe P.
PHYSICAL REVIEW E 72 article 031407 (2005)

Abstract
Suspensions of binary mixtures of hard-sphere poly-methylmethacrylate colloidal particles were studied at six different size ratios, a. The main aim was to determine the range of size ratios over which the binary colloidal crystals AB₂ and AB₁₃ are stable. Combining these results with those of earlier work, we found stability of AB₂ for 0.60≥a≥0.425., in good agreement with theoretical predictions by computer simulations and cell model methods. AB₁₃ was observed for 0.62≥a≥0.485, the lower limit being significantly smaller than the theoretical prediction of about 0.525. Rough measurements of crystallization rates showed that AB₂ tended to crystallize fastest at small size ration, whereas the opposite was true for AB₁₃. These findings should provide a guide to the optimum conditions for materials applications of these binary colloidal crystals.

pdf version of paper.

18) Formation of Self-Supporting Reversible Cellular Networks in Suspensions of Colloids and Liquid Crystals
Vollmer D., Hinze G., Ullrich B., Poon W.C.K., Cates M.E., Schofield A.B
LANGMUIR 21 Pg 4921-4930 (2005)

Abstract
In mixtures of thermotropic liquid crystals with spherical poly (methyl methacrylate) particles, self-supporting networklike structures are formed during slow cooling past the isotropic-to-nematic phase transformation. To characterize the process of network formation in terms of morphology, phase transformation kinetics, and mechanical properties, we have combined data from polarization and laser scanning confocal microscopy with calorimetric, NMR, and rheological results. Our data suggest that the mechanism of network formation is dominated by a broadened temperature and time interval of phase transformation rather than by particle size and concentration. The observation that the width of the transformation interval strongly depends on sample preparation supports the hypothesis that a third component, most likey alkane remnants slowly liberated from the particles, plays a crucial role. In addition, calorimetric findings for liquid crystal/colloid mixtures, heated and cooled up to 13 times, point to separation of the liquid crystal into two compartments with different phase transformation kinetics. This could be explained by redistribution and enrichment of alkane in the particle-composed network walls. A further increase in the storage modulus, G', and incomplete dissolution of the networks in the isotropic state indicate that the formation of two compartments during repeated temperature cycles stabilizes the network and confers strong memory effects.

pdf version of paper.

17) Network Formation in Suspensions of Colloids and Liquid Crystal: Reversibility - Memory Effects
Vollmer D., Schofield A.B., Hinze G.
PROGRESS IN COLLOID AND POLYMER SCIENCE 129 Pg 76-81 (2004)

Abstract
Suspensions of colloids, thermotropic low molecular weight liquid crystal, and small amounts of alkane are investigated by laser scanning confocal microscopy and calorimetry. While cooling the suspension through the isotropic-nematic phase transition the colloid particles are expelled by the liquid crystal, causing the formation of a three-dimensional particle network. Upon reheating back into the isotropic phase the network may break up. However, taking the sample a number of times through the colling/heating cycle leads to annealing of the network, accompanied by an increase of the loss modulus of the system by several orders of magnitude. Eventually it hardly breaks up, even after resting in the isotropic phase for several hours. When this happens calorimetric studies reveal that the temperature dependent heat capacity of the system contains two peaks.

pdf. version of paper.

16) Phonons in Suspensions of Hard Sphere Colloids: Volume Fraction Dependence
Kriegs H., Petekidis G., Fytas G., Penciu R.S., Economou E.N., Schofield A.B.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS 121(16) Pg 7849-7854 (2004)

Abstract
The propagation of sound waves in suspensions of hard sphere colloids is studied as a function of their volume fraction up to random close packing using Brillouin light scattering. The rich experimental phonon spectra of up to five phonon modes are successfully described by theoretical calculations based on the multiple scattering method. Two main types of phonon modes are revealed: Type A modes are acoustic excitations which set up deformations in both the solid (particles) and the liquid (solvent) phases; for type B modes the stress and strain are predominantly localized near the interface between the solid particles and the surrounding liquid (interface waves). While the former become harder (increase their effective sound velocity) as the particle volume fraction increases the latter become softer (the corresponding sound velocity decreases).

pdf version of paper

15) Local Order in a Supercooled Colloidal Fluid Observed by Confocal Microscopy
Gasser U, Schofield A, Weitz DA
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS: CONDENSED MATTER 15(1) Pg S375-S380 (2003)

Abstract
The local order in a supercooled monodisperse colloidal fluid is studied by direct imaging of the particles with a laser scanning confocal microscope. The local structure is analysed with a bond order parameter method, which allows one to discern simple structures that are relevant in this system. As expected for samples that crystallize eventually, a large fraction of the particles are found to sit in surroundings with dominant face-centred cubic or hexagonally close-packed character. Evidence for local structures that contain fragments of icosahedra is found, and, moreover, the icosahedral character increases with volume fraction f, which indicates that it might play an important role at volume fractions near the glass transition.

pdf version of paper

Abstract
Addition of polymer to colloidal suspensions induces an attractive part to the colloidal pair potential, which is of purely entropic origin ("depletion interaction"). We investigated the influence of polymer branching on depletion forces by studying mixtures of hard sphere colloids and star polymers with increasing arm number f = 2-32 but constant r_g = 500A. We found a pronounced effect of branching on the position of the gas/liquid demixing transition. Using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) we were able to measure partial structure factors in star polymer/colloid mixtures. The relative distance to the demixing transitions is reflected in our scattering data.

pdf version of paper

Abstract
We report a detailed experimental study of the aging of the (initial) random hexagonal close-packed (rhcp) crystals formed in suspensions of hard-sphere colloids near the melting point. By suspending the same colloidal particles in two different mixtures of solvents we are able to tune the strength of the gravitational forces acting on the particles. The crystal structure is deduced from diffraction patterns measured by the light scattering equivalent of powder x-ray crystallography. A spontaneous aging of the structure is observed over long periods of time, consisting of a fraction of pure face-centered cubic (fcc) crystals growing at the expense of the randomly stacked crystallites. The rate of growth of the new crystals is small and consistent with the predictions by Pronk and Frenkel. Gravity is also revealed to affect the crystals and favor fcc order but through a slow gradual rearrangement of the random stacking. An important new observation is that small mechanical perturbations can strongly affect the structure of the colloidal crystals, promoting fcc growth and interfering with the spontaneous aging process. Previous experimental results are also discussed in the light of these new findings.

pdf version of paper

Abstract
Experiments, theory, and simulation were used to study glass formation in a simple model system composed of hard spheres with short-range attraction ("sticky hard spheres"). The experiments using well-characterised colloids, revealed a reentrant glass transition line. Mode-coupling theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the reentrance is due to the existence of two qualitatively different glassy states: one dominated by repulsion (with structural arrest due to caging) and the other by attraction (with structural arrest due to bonding). This picture is consistent with a study of the particle dynamics in the colloid using dynamic light scattering.

pdf version of paper

Abstract
The possibility of binary hard-sphere colloids crystallising with the cesium chloride (CsCl) structure was examined experimentally using poly (methyl methacrylate) particles dispersed in organic solvents. Towards this end, two dispersions were prepared which contained particles with a radius ratio a=R_B/R_A, where A refers to the large particles and B the small, of 0.736. This is close to the optimum ratio of 0.732 at which this structure is predicted to form as determined by space-filling calculations. The phases found within the binary mixture were examined using laser light crystallography and scanning electronmicroscopy and some were shown to have the CsCl structure. Over a period of time some of the CsCl crystals disappeared indicating that they were metastable and that this structure may not be the most enduring phase at this size ratio.

pdf version of paper

Abstract
We examine the demixing transition in star-polymer-colloid mixtures for star arm numbers f = 2,6,16,32 and different star-polymer-colloid size ratios 0.18 less than or equal to less than or equal to 0.50. Theoretically, we solve the thermodynamically self-consistent Rogers-Young integral equations for binary mixtures using three effective pair potentials obtained from direct molecular computer simulations. The numerical results show a spinodal instability. The demixing binodals are approximately calculated and found to be consistent with experimental observations.

pdf version of paper

9) Glasslike Kinetic Arrest At The Colloidal-Gelation Transition
Segre PN, Prasad V, Schofield AB, Weitz DA
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 86(26) Pg 6042-6045 JUN 25 2001

Abstract
We show that gelation of weakly attractive colloids is remarkably similar to the colloidal glass transition. Like the glass transition, dynamic light scattering functions near gelation scale with scattering vector, and exhibits a two-step decay with a power-law divergence of the final decay time. Like the glass transition, static light scattering does not change upon gelation. These results suggest that, like the glass transition, gelation results from kinetic arrest due to crowding of clusters, and that both gelation and the glass transition are manifestations of a more general jamming transition.

pdf version of paper

Abstract
Significant progress has been made in the last decade in understanding mixtures of hard-sphere colloids and (smaller) non-adsorbing, ideal, linear polymers. We introduce extra complexity into this simple model system by replacing the linear polymers with star-branched polymers with increasing functionality but constant radius of gyration. The observed phase diagrams, interpreted in light of what is known about hard-sphere colloid plus linear polymer and binary-hard-sphere mixtures, suggest that 32-arm stars are close to behaving hard-sphere-like in colloid-star mixtures at this size ratio.

pdf version of paper

7) Real-Space Imaging Of Nucleation And Growth In Colloidal Crystallization
Gasser U, Weeks ER, Schofield A, Pusey PN, Weitz DA
SCIENCE 292(5515) Pg 258-262 APR 13 2001

Abstract
Crystallization of concentrated colloidal suspensions was studied in real space with laser scanning confocal microscopy. Direct imaging in three dimensions allowed identification and observation of both nucleation and growth of crystalline regions, providing an experimental measure of properties of the nucleating crystallites. By following their evolution, we identified critical nuclei, determined nucleation rates, and measured the average surface tension of the crystal-liquid interface. The structure of the nuclei was the same as the bulk solid phase, random hexagonal close-packed, and their average shape was rather nonspherical, with rough rather than faceted surfaces.

pdf version of paper

6) Entropically Driven Colloidal Crystallization On Patterned Surfaces
Lin KH, Crocker JC, Prasad V, Schofield A, Weitz DA, Lubensky TC, Yodh AG
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 85(8) Pg 1770-1773 AUG 21 2000

Abstract
We investigate the self-assembly of colloidal spheres on periodically patterned templates. The surface potentials and the surface phases are induced entropically by the presence of dissolved, nonadsorbing polymers. A rich variety of two-dimensional fluidlike and solidlike phases was observed to form on template potentials with both one- and two-dimensional symmetry. The same methodology was then used to nucleate an oriented single fee crystal more than 30 layers thick. The general approach provides a new route for directed self-assembly of novel mesoscopic structures.

pdf version of paper

5) Three-Dimensional Direct Imaging Of Structural Relaxation Near The Colloidal Glass Transition
Weeks ER, Crocker JC, Levitt AC, Schofield A, Weitz DA
SCIENCE 287(5453) Pg 627-631 JAN 28 2000

Abstract
Confocal microscopy was used to directly observe three-dimensional dynamics of particles in colloidal supercooled fluids and colloidal glasses. The fastest particles moved cooperatively; connected clusters of these mobile particles could be identified: and the cluster size distribution, structure, and dynamics were investigated. The characteristic cluster size grew markedly in the supercooled fluid as the glass transition was approached, in agreement with computer simulations; at the glass transition, however, there was a sudden drop in their size. The clusters of fast-moving particles were largest near the alpha-relaxation time scale for supercooled colloidal fluids, but were also present, albeit with a markedly different nature, at shorter beta-relaxation time scales, in both supercooled fluid and glass colloidal phases.

pdf version of paper

4) Surface Tension, Stickiness And Engulfment
Ottewill RH, Schofield AB, Waters JA
JOURNAL OF DISPERSION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 19(6-7) Pg 1151-1162 1998

Abstract
The thermodynamic conditions for the engulfment of one set of particles by another has been given in terms of interfacial energies. Experimentally, it has been shown that a polymer with a high glass transition temperature can be engulfed by a particle of low glass transition temperature; also, that inorganic particles can be engulfed by polymer particles. As a precursor to the engulfment stage heterocoagulation can be used for bringing the particles together in a "sticking" mode. This appears to be a general process which is applicable to a number of scientific areas, e.g. in biology, phagocytosis, and in material science for the preparation of composite particles.

3) Preparation Of Core-Shell Polymer Colloid Particles By Encapsulation
Ottewill RH, Schofield AB, Waters JA, Williams NSJ
COLLOID AND POLYMER SCIENCE 275(3) Pg 274-283 MAR 1997

Abstract
By means of heterocoagulation anionic poly-[styrene] particles were coated with smaller electrosterically stabilised cationic particles of poly-[butyl methacrylate]. On heating the heterocoagulated units 45 degrees C above the glass transition temperature of poly-[butyl methacrylate], as predicted theoretically, the latter polymer spread over the surface of the poly-[styrene] particle to give a composite particle with a core-shell structure. It was found that the extent of packing of the small particles on the larger core particle was a critical feature of the coating process.

pdf version of paper

2) Preparation Of Composite Latex Particles By Engulfment
Ottewill RH, Schofield AB, Waters JA
COLLOID AND POLYMER SCIENCE 274(8) Pg 763-771 AUG 1996

Abstract
It can be predicted that, provided the interfacial energies are well chosen for two individual particles, then it is possible to engulf one particle into the other. This has now been achieved experimentally using poly-[butylmethacrylate] particles as the host material and poly-[styrene] particles for engulfment. Initially, anionic poly-[styrene] particles were heterocoagulated onto electrosterically stabilised cationic particles of poly-[butylmethacrylate]. Then on heating the heterocoagulated units above the glass transition temperature of the latter engulfment occurred.

pdf version of paper

1) The Effect Of Electric Fields On Nonaqueous Dispersions
Ottewill RH, Rennie AR, Schofield A
PROGRESS IN COLLOID & POLYMER SCIENCE 81 Pg 1-5 1990

Abstract
Small angle neutron scattering has been used to investigate the structure of poly(methylmethacrylate) dispersions in dodecane in the presence of an electric field. In dodecane alone field effects were not observed. In the presence of calcium octanoate, however, the particles apparently become charged and increased ordering was observed. The effect of an electric field on the latter dispersions produced an anisotropy of structure which suggested that the particles were forming loose 'strings of beads' in the direction of the applied field.

pdf version of paper

Fiction

The Quest For The Holy Ale

Synopsis

What is the best ale in the world?

Would you risk all on a quest to gain it?

Hops was a desperate man. His beloved inn lay in ruins, thanks to sabotage by a rival. But would he dare all in the wilds to claim a prize that would restore his fortunes? No! Not a chance! He'd got underlings for that type of thing...

Barbarian, troubleshooter Terry Testosterone and junior barman Roffo are plucked from their comfortable lives and sent with a mysterious monk on a quest to find this paramount brew. But can they survive the strange peoples and cultures that lie in their path? Will they be able to elude the attempts of their rival's minions to stop them? And should they do so, will they be able to best The Ale's bearded guardians and master The Ten Trials Of The Wise? One thing is sure: succeed in all this, and they will truly have earned a good drink!

Website