Physics

Prof. Sanjay Puri
JNU, Delhi

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
phases. Problems in this area of "kinetics of phase transitions" have
received much research attention. In this talk, we review our
understanding of this area. We conclude by discussing our work on
surface-directed spinodal decomposition, i.e., the interplay of
wetting and phase separation.