Droplet impact and the dynamics of rapidly moving contact lines

ORAL

Abstract

When a~liquid drop approaches a flat solid surface, the air~beneath it is compressed,~flattening the bottom of the drop and~forcing initial contact to occur in a~ring-shape, trapping a pocket~of air in its center as two wetting fronts~rapidly expand both~outward and inwards to completely wet the surface. We combine total internal~reflection (TIR) microscopy with a~novel virtual frame technique~(VFT) to directly observe the sub-micron length~scales above a~solid surface as the drop approaches, impacts and then spreads~over it.

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Authors

  • Shmuel M. Rubinstein

    • Harvard University

  • John M. Kolinski

    • Harvard University

  • Shreyas Mandre

    • Brown University

  • L. Mahadevan

    • SEAS, Harvard University
    • Harvard University
    • Engineering and Applied Sciences, Kavli Institute for Nanobio Science and Technology, Harvard University

  • David Weitz

    • Harvard University
    • Harvard University Department of Physics, Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences