Coil-globule (or chain collapse) transition plays similar role in polymer physics as various phase transition from gaseous to condensed states do in regular physics of usual substances. As in usual substances, there is a variety of condensed phases in polymer systems, including liquid, liquid crystals, different types of glasses, etc. On the other hand, there are some features specific for polymers, such as topological constraints. In the present lecture, I plan to review and bring to the general framework such phenomena as protein folding, large scale DNA organization in chromosomes, polymer chain coil-globule transition and adsorption, polymer gel collapse. Time permitting, I shall try to cover both equilibrium and dynamics aspects.
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