Structure, dynamics and manipulation of colloidal systems
Dullens, R.1,
1 Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Colloidal systems are widely used as a model system to study many fundamental issues in condensed matter physics and statistical mechanics. The great advantage is that the colloidal time- and length scales are experimentally very well accessible. In addition, colloidal systems can be readily manipulated using for example optical tweezers, magnetic and electric fields. In this presentation, I will highlight various experiments that illustrate the unique properties of colloids. The main part of the talk will be about experiments in which we used optical tweezers to drag a large probe particle through a two-dimensional colloidal crystal of smaller particles. Here we varied the orientation with respect to the crystal axis and the drag-speed. I will also show recent work on crystallisation and column-formation in confined magnetic systems.