The first five articles in this issue emphasize equilibrium phases and structures. The hard sphere properties of sterically stabilized particle suspensions are examined in the article by van Megan, Pusey and Bartlett, a colloidal compound is discussed by Hachisu and attractive interactions are shown to produce a full complement of phase transitions including a liquid/gas transition by Emmett and Vincent. Recent theoretical interest in the nature of melting in two dimensions has led to the investigation of the melting transition in colloidal systems where the particles are constrained to a single layer. Murray, Van Winkle and Wenk present experimental results supporting the view that two dimensional melting is mediated by two second order transitions, while Tang, Armstrong, Mockler and O'Sullivan present results suggesting a first order process in a similar colloidal monolayer.

Observation, Prediction and Simulation of Phase Transitions in Complex Fluids presents an overview of the phase transitions that occur in a variety of soft-matter systems: colloidal suspensions of spherical or rod-like particles and their mixtures, directed polymers and polymer blends, colloid--polymer mixtures, and liquid-forming mesogens. This modern and fascinating branch of condensed matter physics is presented from three complementary viewpoints. The first section, written by experimentalists, emphasises the observation of basic phenomena (by light scattering, for example). The second section, written by theoreticians, focuses on the necessary theoretical tools (density functional theory, path integrals, free energy expansions). The third section is devoted to the results of modern simulation techniques (Gibbs ensemble, free energy calculations, configurational bias Monte Carlo). The interplay between the disciplines is clearly illustrated. For all those interested in modern research in equilibrium statistical mechanics.

* Physical chemists will find this book comprehensive. Topical reviews on all aspects of colloidal ordering and related phase transitions will be covered. It provides a good blend of experimental and theoretical investigations. * Useful to materials scientists and chemical engineers, the book includes a discussion of stability, important from the point of view of applications of colloidal crystals. * Physicists will be interested in the book, because it highlights the controversy over effective interparticle interaction in charged colloids.

Colloidal suspensions describe particles with size from typically a few nanometers to a few microns which are dispersed in a medium. In physics, in chemistry, and in biology colloids play an important role and the study of colloidal systems underwent a recent renaissance. This is based on the development of experimental techniques, the availability of extensive computer simulations and well-developed theoretical approaches. From a technological point of view, the relevance of micro- and nanostructured materials and the presence of colloids in nature and everyday life motivates study of this rich field. In this thesis the phase behavior and the effective interactions of colloidal suspensions in bulk, in contact with surfaces, and in confined geometry are studied. For mixtures of particles with hard-core interactions the model introduced by Asakura, Oosawa and Vrij provides an appropriate starting-point. Based on that model the free-volume theory and the density functional theory are employed. In experimental systems one faces particles with properties such as the size or the shape which are described by a distribution. To capture that issue a generalized approach based on free-volume theory for treating mixtures of colloids and a polydisperse depletion agent is presented. Within that approach it is possible to treat size and morphology polydispersity. A depletion agent with a bimodal distribution possessing two length scales can be studied. Though the Asakura-Oosawa-Vrij model describes a simple fluid - a mixture of hard spheres and ideal polymer - the phenomenology is rather rich: in contact with a wall one finds layering and wetting effects and in confined geometry of a narrow pore one finds capillary condensation. The competition between both effects manifests itself in thermodynamic properties like the excess colloid adsorption and the solvation force between the two confining walls. Solvent phase separation complicates the evaluation of interparticle interactions between the solute particles. We address this question for the wall-colloid and the colloid-colloid geometry. For a non-spherical particle the effect of curvature on thermodynamic quantities is studied.