chapter 1
In this introductory chapter we briefly review how computer simulations can be used to study first-order phase transitions. We then focus on phase transitions in colloidal systems. First, we discuss how we can change the qualitative features of the phase diagram by changing the range of the interactions between the colloids,. In practice, such variations in the range of the inter-colloidal interactions can be achieved by mixing the colloids with polymers of different sizes. Before embarking on the actual numerical study of colloids and colloid-polymer mixtures, we give a brief general introduction to such systems. In particular, we give an outline of the statistical mechanical framework that allows us to describe such complex systems with relatively simple models.