The Onsager Lecture with Professor Daan Frenkel from Cambridge University is planned on November 7th from 14 to 15:00 in the auditorium F6 (Gamle Fysikk, Gløshaugen, NTNU, Trondheim)
Welcome!
Title: Entropy and Complex Self-Assembly.
Abstract:
A holy grail of nano-technology is to create truly complex, multi-component structures by self-assembly. Thus far, much of the experimental work has focused on the entropy-driven creation of “structural complexity” – an approach based on Onsager’s insights.
In my talk, I will discuss “Addressable Complexity”: the creation of structures that contain hundreds or thousands of distinct building blocks that all have to find their place in a 3D structure. Even though the relevant interactions in such structures are mainly energetic, simulations yield surprising insights that highlight the importance of entropy in the interaction of particles with many binding sites. These principles may even help us find ways to distinguish harmless and pathogenic bacteria