Skating on a Film of Air: Drops Impacting on a Surface

John M. Kolinski, Shmuel M. Rubinstein, Shreyas Mandre, Michael P. Brenner, David A. Weitz, and L. Mahadevan
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 074503 – Published 15 February 2012
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Abstract

The commonly accepted description of drops impacting on a surface typically ignores the essential role of the air that is trapped between the impacting drop and the surface. Here we describe a new imaging modality that is sensitive to the behavior right at the surface. We show that a very thin film of air, only a few tens of nanometers thick, remains trapped between the falling drop and the surface as the drop spreads. The thin film of air serves to lubricate the drop enabling the fluid to skate on the air film laterally outward at surprisingly high velocities, consistent with theoretical predictions. Eventually this thin film of air breaks down as the fluid wets the surface via a spinodal-like mechanism. Our results show that the dynamics of impacting drops are much more complex than previously thought, with a rich array of unexpected phenomena that require rethinking classic paradigms.

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  • Received 23 September 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.074503

© 2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

John M. Kolinski1, Shmuel M. Rubinstein1,2,*, Shreyas Mandre3, Michael P. Brenner1, David A. Weitz1,2, and L. Mahadevan1,2

  • 1School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 3Division of Engineering, Brown University, 182 Hope Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA

  • *shmuel.rubinstein@weizmann.ac.il

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Issue

Vol. 108, Iss. 7 — 17 February 2012

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