'The book is highly recommended as a reference for advanced graduate students and scholars involved in geometric analysis of membranes and other elastic surfaces. Valuable techniques may be learned from the book’s model constructions and sequential derivations and presentations of governing equations. Detailed analysis and solutions enable the reader with an increased understanding of the physical characteristics of membranes in liquid crystal phases such as their preferred shapes.'Contemporary PhysicsThis is the second edition of the book Geometric Methods in Elastic Theory of Membranes in Liquid Crystal Phases published by World Scientific in 1999. This book gives a comprehensive treatment of the conditions of mechanical equilibrium and the deformation of membranes as a surface problem in differential geometry. It is aimed at readers engaging in the field of investigation of the shape formation of membranes in liquid crystalline state with differential geometry. The material chosen in this book is mainly limited to analytical results. The main changes in this second edition are: we add a chapter (Chapter 4) to explain how to calculate variational problems on a surface with a free edge by using a new mathematical tool — moving frame method and exterior differential forms — and how to derive the shape equation and boundary conditions for open lipid membranes through this new method. In addition, we include the recent concise work on chiral lipid membranes as a section in Chapter 5, and in Chapter 6 we mention some topics that we have not fully investigated but are also important to geometric theory of membrane elasticity.

This is the second edition of the book Geometric Methods in Elastic Theory of Membranes in Liquid Crystal Phases published by World Scientific in 1999. This book gives a comprehensive treatment of the conditions of mechanical equilibrium and the deformation of membranes as a surface problem in differential geometry. It is aimed at readers engaging in the field of investigation of the shape formation of membranes in liquid crystalline state with differential geometry. The material chosen in this book is mainly limited to analytical results. The main changes in this second edition are: we add a chapter (Chapter 4) to explain how to calculate variational problems on a surface with a free edge by using a new mathematical tool -- moving frame method and exterior differential forms -- and how to derive the shape equation and boundary conditions for open lipid membranes through this new method. In addition, we include the recent concise work on chiral lipid membranes as a section in Chapter 5, and in Chapter 6 we mention some topics that we have not fully investigated but are also important to geometric theory of membrane elasticity.

This book is the first collection of lipid-membrane research conducted by leading mechanicians and experts in continuum mechanics. It brings the overall intellectual framework afforded by modern continuum mechanics to bear on a host of challenging problems in lipid membrane physics. These include unique and authoritative treatments of differential geometry, shape elasticity, surface flow and diffusion, interleaf membrane friction, phase transitions, electroelasticity and flexoelectricity, and computational modelling.

This book collects lectures given by the plenary speakers at the 10th International ISAAC Congress, held in Macau, China in 2015. The contributions, authored by eminent specialists, present some of the most exciting recent developments in mathematical analysis, probability theory, and related applications. Topics include: partial differential equations in mathematical physics, Fourier analysis, probability and Brownian motion, numerical analysis, and reproducing kernels. The volume also presents a lecture on the visual exploration of complex functions using the domain coloring technique. Thanks to the accessible style used, readers only need a basic command of calculus.

Availability of advanced computational technology has fundamentally altered the investigative paradigm in the field of biomechanics. Armed with sophisticated computational tools, researchers are seeking answers to fundamental questions by exploring complex biomechanical phenomena at the molecular, cellular, tissue and organ levels. The computational armamentarium includes such diverse tools as the ab initio quantum mechanical and molecular dynamics methods at the atomistic scales and the finite element, boundary element, meshfree as well as immersed boundary and lattice-Boltzmann methods at the continuum scales. Multiscale methods that link various scales are also being developed. While most applications require forward analysis, e.g., finding deformations and stresses as a result of loading, others involve determination of constitutive parameters based on tissue imaging and inverse analysis. This book provides a glimpse of the diverse and important roles that modern computational technology is playing in various areas of biomechanics including biofluids and mass transfer, cardiovascular mechanics, musculoskeletal mechanics, soft tissue mechanics, and biomolecular mechanics.

Professor Kok Khoo Phua is the Founding Director and Emeritus Professor of the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Adjunct Professor of Department of Physics both at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS). He is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd.When he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 2009, the citation read: 'For tireless efforts to strengthen scientific research throughout Asia and promote international physics education and scholarly exchanges, and for enriching science and education through the World Scientific Publishing Company he founded.'This unique volume on the occasion of his 80th birthday is a compilation of tributes from his friends who have known him for decades along with scientific articles that celebrate his visionary approach to promote science worldwide.

Biophysics is a rapidly-evolving interdisciplinary science that applies theories and methods of the physical sciences to questions of biology. Biophysics encompasses many disciplines, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, biochemistry, medicine, pharmacology, physiology, and neuroscience, and it is essential that scientists working in these varied fields are able to understand each other's research. Comprehensive Biophysics, Nine Volume Set will help bridge that communication gap. Written by a team of researchers at the forefront of their respective fields, under the guidance of Chief Editor Edward Egelman, Comprehensive Biophysics, Nine Volume Set provides definitive introductions to a broad array of topics, uniting different areas of biophysics research - from the physical techniques for studying macromolecular structure to protein folding, muscle and molecular motors, cell biophysics, bioenergetics and more. The result is this comprehensive scientific resource - a valuable tool both for helping researchers come to grips quickly with material from related biophysics fields outside their areas of expertise, and for reinforcing their existing knowledge. Biophysical research today encompasses many areas of biology. These studies do not necessarily share a unique identifying factor. This work unites the different areas of research and allows users, regardless of their background, to navigate through the most essential concepts with ease, saving them time and vastly improving their understanding The field of biophysics counts several journals that are directly and indirectly concerned with the field. There is no reference work that encompasses the entire field and unites the different areas of research through deep foundational reviews. Comprehensive Biophysics fills this vacuum, being a definitive work on biophysics. It will help users apply context to the diverse journal literature offering, and aid them in identifying areas for further research Chief Editor Edward Egelman (E-I-C, Biophysical Journal) has assembled an impressive, world-class team of Volume Editors and Contributing Authors. Each chapter has been painstakingly reviewed and checked for consistent high quality. The result is an authoritative overview which ties the literature together and provides the user with a reliable background information and citation resource

This book provides an introduction to the mathematical aspects of Euler's elastic theory and its application. The approach is rigorous, as well as visually depicted, and can be easily digested. The first few chapters introduce the needed mathematical concepts from geometry and variational calculus. The formal definitions and proofs are always illustrated through complete derivations and concrete examples. In this way, the reader becomes acquainted with Cassinian ovals, Sturmian spirals, co-Lemniscates, the nodary and the undulary, Delaunay surfaces, and their generalizations. The remaining chapters discuss the modeling of membranes, mylar balloons, rotating liquid drops, Hele-Shaw cells, nerve fibers, Cole's experiments, and membrane fusion. The book is geared towards applied mathematicians, physicists and engineers interested in Elastica Theory and its applications.

This book is the first monograph dedicated entirely to Willmore energy and Willmore surfaces as contemporary topics in differential geometry. While it focuses on Willmore energy and related conjectures, it also sits at the intersection between integrable systems, harmonic maps, Lie groups, calculus of variations, geometric analysis and applied differential geometry. Rather than reproducing published results, it presents new directions, developments and open problems. It addresses questions like: What is new in Willmore theory? Are there any new Willmore conjectures and open problems? What are the contemporary applications of Willmore surfaces? As well as mathematicians and physicists, this book is a useful tool for postdoctoral researchers and advanced graduate students working in this area.

Flexoelectricity is the ability of materials to generate a voltage when they are bent or, conversely, to bend under voltage. Flexoelectricity can be present in all materials; however, the magnitude of the flexoelectric coefficients is so small that flexoelectricity is virtually imperceptible on the human scale. The book's objective is to look at the flexoelectric effect in ceramics for various applications point of view such as sensor, actuator and energy harvesting etc. It briefly discusses the flexoelectric effect theories and models with the latest development in this field. Several methods are discussed to increase the flexoelectric effect in ferroelectric and other ceramics. It focused on the latest development in various possible applications such as flexopyroelectric, flexocaloric and nano energy generators. Apart from these, it will also discuss the inverse flexoelectric effect, flexoelectric effect in 2D materials, ambiguities and controversies in this field. This book resolved many questions related to flexoelectricity and made significant discoveries with profound implications beyond flexoelectricity, in such diverse areas as caloric or MEMS devices, etc. It covers the most recent breakthroughs in nano-generator, composite-based ceramics to maximize energy harvesting and storage. Therefore, this book will be handy for a researcher working in this direction of ceramics and can be a reference book for allied specializations. It will open a new approach to using the flexoelectric effect in various ceramics and varieties of applications. - Provides an in-depth study of the flexoelectric effect of a broad range of ceramic materials - It updates the state of art progress that has been done in the area of flexoelectric-based energy harvesting via nano-generator or nanocomposites of ceramics - Provides most recent advancement in the area of lead-free, lead-based ceramics, 2D material, flexocaloric and flexopyroelectric applications - The inverse flexoelectric effect is discussed in detail, which helps newcomers and expert researchers, scientists, and engineers working in this field - Includes an evaluation of ambiguities and controversies about the flexoelectric effect