Suppression of Dripping from a Ceiling

John M. Burgess; Anne Juel; W. D. McCormick; J. B. Swift; Harry L. Swinney

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.1203

Suppression of Dripping from a Ceiling

John M. Burgess, Anne Juel, W. D. McCormick, J. B. Swift, and Harry L. Swinney

Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1203 – Published 12 February 2001

Abstract

An isothermal layer suspended from a surface is gravitationally (Rayleigh-Taylor) unstable. We find that, when a vertical temperature difference $Δ T$ above a critical value $(Δ T)_{c}$ is imposed across the liquid-gas layer system (heated from below), the restoring force provided by the temperature-dependent surface tension (thermocapillarity) can stabilize the layer. Our measurements of the most unstable wave number for $Δ T < (Δ T)_{c}$ agree well with our linear stability analysis. The instability occurs at long wavelengths: the most unstable wavelength at $(Δ T)_{c}$ is infinite.

Received 18 July 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.1203

Authors & Affiliations

John M. Burgess^*, Anne Juel^†, W. D. McCormick, J. B. Swift, and Harry L. Swinney^‡

Center for Nonlinear Dynamics and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712

^*Electronic address: jburgess@chaos.ph.utexas.edu
^†Present address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
^‡Electronic address: swinney@chaos.ph.utexas.edu