Bridging between micro- and macroscales of materials by mesoscopic models

The importance of bridging length scales for materials is illustrated by three examples, nematic liquid crystals, strength of materials, and epitaxial growth. Emphasis is on the microscopic scale, with first-principles calculations of molecule–surface interaction, stacking-fault energies, interlayer interactions, diffusion barriers, and adsorbate–adsorbate interactions. Some pilot examples of using such information on the mesoand macroscales with models using director fields, misfit densities of dislocation, and monomer and island densities are presented. The area is predicted to have a great future. 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.