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Life would not exist without sensitive, or soft, matter. All biological structures depend on it, including red blood globules, lung fluid, and membranes. So do industrial emulsions, gels, plastics, liquid crystals, and granular materials. What makes sensitive matter so fascinating is its inherent versatility. Shape-shifting at the slightest provocation, whether a change in composition or environment, it leads a fugitive existence.
Physicist Michel Mitov brings drama to molecular gastronomy (as when two irreconcilable materials are mixed to achieve the miracle of mayonnaise) and offers answers to everyday questions, such as how does paint dry on canvas, why does shampoo foam better when you “repeat,” and what allows for the controlled release of drugs? Along the way we meet a futurist cook, a scientist with a runaway imagination, and a penniless inventor named Goodyear who added sulfur to latex, quite possibly by accident, and created durable rubber.
As Mitov demonstrates, even religious ritual is a lesson in the surprising science of sensitive matter. Thrice yearly, the reliquary of St. Januarius is carried down cobblestone streets from the Cathedral to the Church of St. Clare in Naples. If all goes as hoped—and since 1389 it often has—the dried blood contained in the reliquary’s largest vial liquefies on reaching its destination, and Neapolitans are given a reaffirming symbol of renewal.
E-Book Content
S E N S I T I V E M AT T E R
S E N S I T I V E M AT T E R F O A M S , G E L S , L I Q U I D C R Y S TA L S , AND OTHER MIRACLES
Michel Mitov Translated by Giselle Weiss
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, England 2012
Copyright © 2012 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First published as Matière sensible: Mousses, gels, cristaux liquides et autres miracles, copyright © 2010 by Éditions du Seuil Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mitov, Michel. [Matière sensible. English.] Sensitive matter : foams, gels, liquid crystals, and other miracles / Michel Mitov ; translated by Giselle Weiss. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-674-06456-0 (alk. paper) 1. Soft condensed matter. 2. Colloids. 3. Rheology. 4. Materials. I. Title. QC173.458.S62M5813 2010 620.1'1–dc23 2011041643
CONTENTS
Preface: Matter, Are You There? Prologue: Sensitive Matter, Divine Matter? Introduction: Let Us Praise Sensitivity, a Unifying Virtue Conciliation: The Art of Resolving Conflicts 1 Peacemaking among Enemies . . . Easy When a Mediator Is Involved
ix xiii
1
5
Blend or Separate? Conciliation No-Fail Mayonnaise A Very Discreet Peacemaker Beyond Mayonnaise
2 Dissolving Fat in Water: A Question of Organization 3 Don’t Mix, Associate! Those Were the Days . . . The Psychology of a School of Fish Molecular Anatomy Sequestering a School of Fish Windows Would Do Well to Reflect
12 16
vi C O N T E N T S
Revelation: The Little Additive That Changes Everything 4 Rubber: A Story Nearly Cut Short 35 Exploring the Amazon Charles Goodyear: A Human Adventure Beyond Rubber Polywater: A Case of Pathological Science
5 The Firefighter’s Jet Stream: Reach for the Sky 6 The Glamorous Affair of Gas and Liquid
48 51
From Grape Juice to a Champagne Glass: This Way, Please! The Role of Interfaces Certified Foamability Living on the Edge Beyond Champagne
7 Down with Foam! 8 Breathing: An Unseen Triumph
61 65
What Is the Problem? The History of Alveolar Pressure Not Too Much, Not Too Little Pulmonary Surfactant: A Multifunctional Material
9 Familiarity and Distance: Colloids
70
Being Divided Brings Them Together