Ancient Greeks believed that they only needed two forces to explain all natural phenomena – love and hate. They were right. We are now less romantic and call them attraction and repulsion. Fundamental understanding of such interactions between molecules and surfaces underpins many biological and natural processes and is also critically important to industrial applications. The Master Class will discuss van der Waals forces between molecules and how they give rise to longer-ranged inter-surface forces, such as hydrophobic, hydration, structural, capillary, and frictional forces, as well as surface interactions mediated by polymers, surfactants, and nanoparticles. These concepts will be fortified by worked problems.
