W. G. Pritchard Lab Seminar: 3:30-4:30 PM, 103 Osmond Laboratory

	          **Monday October 7, 2002**
	
Wetting transitions

Milton W. Cole

Department of Physics
Penn State University

Abstract:

A liquid drop deposited on a surface can either spread uniformly or bead up 
(assuming equilibrium).  This talk will describe how temperature can change 
this wetting behavior from one kind to the other.  This phase transition is 
described by the 2 dimensional Ising model, the most famous model in 
statistical mechanics.  My theoretical work and the work of various 
experimental groups will be discussed.