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SUMMARY:Bacteria as Active Colloids - Professor Wilson Poon\, Professor of
  Condensed Matter Physics SUPA and School of Physics &amp\; Astronomy\, Th
 e University of Edinburgh
DTSTART:20120528T183000Z
DTEND:20120528T200000Z
UID:TALK32258@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Nigel Bennee
DESCRIPTION:A colloid is a suspension of particles in a liquid that\, desp
 ite being heavier than the liquid\, can nevertheless remain suspended agai
 nst gravity because of thermal (or Brownian) motion. Colloidal particles h
 ave sizes in the range of 10 nm to just over 1 micron. Interestingly\, the
  vast majority of bacteria have sizes in the upper end of this range. Thus
 \, bacteria are colloids. But they do things that ordinary colloids do not
  do. In particular\, they can grow and divide\, and they are capable of se
 lf-propelled motion ('swim'). To a physicist\, then\, a suspension of bact
 eria can be considered an 'active colloid'. In this lecture\, we will firs
 t speculate briefly whether there are reasons why bacteria - the smallest 
 known autonomous living organisms - must necessarily be colloidal in size\
 , before moving on to\nexamine bacteria as active colloids. We will see ho
 w the growth of a bacterial colony and the aggregation of motile bacteria 
 can be seen as novel self assembly processes whereby micron- sized 'partic
 les' can be harnessed to generate structures spontaneously.
LOCATION:Wolfson Lecture Theatre\, Churchill College\, Storey's Way\, Camb
 ridge
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