Annual progress report of the Department of Solid State Physics 1 January - 31 December 1996

Research in the department is concerned with “Materials with Distinct Physical and Chemical Properties”. The principal activities of the department in the period from 1 January to 31 December, 1996, are presented in this Progress Report.
Neutron and X-ray diffraction techniques are used to study a wide variety of problems in condensed matter physics and include: two- and three-dimensional structures, magnetic ordering, heavy fermions, high Tc superconductivity, phase transitions in model systems, precipitation phenomena, and nano-scale structures in various materials. The research in chemistry includes chemical synthesis and physico-chemical investigation of small molecules and polymers, with emphasis on polymers with new optical properties, block copolymers, surface modified polymers, and supramolecular structures. Related to these problems there is work going on in theory, Monte Carlo simulations, computer simulation of molecules and polymers and methods of data analysis.