The Three Partners Soft Solid, Liquid, and Elastomer

1 The Three Partners Soft Solid, Liquid, and Elastomer 

The specimens obtained by this technique are perfectly transparent. After baking in air, their surfaces are optically smooth. No roughness is detectable under a microscope, i.e., on a scale of a few microns. 

The Young modulus of the elastomer is measured by straightforward compression of a cylindrical sample. Its value is = 0.74 0.05 MPA. The elastomer, affixed to a mechanical arm, is linked to a micromanipulator providing motion in three directions. 

2 Observation of the Contact Reflection Interference Contrast Microscopy 

The experimental setup relies on a reflection interference contrast microscope (RICM) used in conjunction with a CCD camera and a video camera recorder (VCR). 

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