MPhys Physics with Theoretical Physics / Course details

This unit is divided into two parts. The first part introduces modern research methodologies used in fluid mechanics, such as scaling analysis and asymptotic methods. These concepts are then applied to static and dynamic microscale fluid-mechanics problems, including capillarity, dynamic wetting, and imbibition. This part of the unit concludes with an introduction to the fundamental physics underpinning transport in microfluidic systems and associated interfacial phenomena. The second part of the unit moves to the physics of fluids at the nanoscale and the recent frontiers of atomic-scale fluidics. It begins with the thermodynamics of interfaces and then introduces the basics of nanofluidic phenomena, where electrokinetics, molecular transport, and emergent low-dimensional behaviour challenge classical continuum descriptions. It then presents the main fabrication techniques and modern designs of nano- and Ångström-scale devices, and concludes with a discussion of nanoscale permeability of liquids and gases through membranes and low-dimensional materials, including nanopores and atomically thin membranes. 

This unit provides an overview of advanced topics in physics of fluids and interfaces across scales, from classical macro- and microscale viscous flows to nanoscale transport under atomic-scale confinement, where nanoscale physics challenges classical continuum descriptions. It develops the theoretical frameworks needed to understand these systems, with particular focus on static and dynamic capillarity, wetting, transport, and emergent phenomena on the atomic scale. The unit also introduces modern techniques to design and fabricate circuits and devices to study these phenomena across scales, and presents recent experimental developments in the field, giving students a flavour of contemporary research in both academia and industry. 

ILO 1

Explain the fundamental physical principles governing macro-, micro-, and nanofluidic systems, and interfacial phenomena.  

ILO 2

Describe and interpret the key theoretical and experimental results in macro-, micro-, and nanofluidics, and the influence of interfaces.

ILO 3

Apply modern research methodologies used in the study of macro-, micro-, and nanofluidics, and in interfacial phenomena, including experimental techniques, theoretical arguments and related modelling approaches.

Syllabus (S1, 36 lectures)

Advanced macro/microscale physics of fluids (18 lectures)

1. Scalings in fluid dynamics (3 lectures)

General principles (Buckingham Pi theorem), force/energy balances, and theoretical examples, e.g., lubrication flow.

2. Fluid mechanics on microscale (2 lectures)  

Small Reynolds number, Stokes flow, diffusion equation, interfaces, softness.  

3. Capillarity & Wetting phenomena (3 lectures)

Synchronous learning:

36 lectures

Asynchronous learning:

Material available online prior to teaching sessions:

Lecture slides  

Intermolecular and Surface Forces, Jacob N. Israelachvili, Academic Press - Third Edition (2011)

Capillarity and Wetting Phenomena: Drops, Bubbles, Pearls, Waves

by David Quere, Françoise Brochard-Wyart, and Pierre-Gilles de Gennes

David Tong, Fluid Mechanics: Volume 4: Lectures on Theoretical Physics, Cambridge University Press, 2025