Microgravity makes fully mobile droplets measurable

Driscoll, Michelle M.

doi:10.1038/d41586-022-02342-2

NEWS AND VIEWS
05 September 2022

Microgravity makes fully mobile droplets measurable

Experiments conducted in Earth’s orbit have probed the complicated dynamics of moving droplets by circumventing the size limits imposed by gravity. The findings could lead to improved microchip fabrication techniques.

Michelle M. Driscoll⁰

Michelle M. Driscoll
1. Michelle M. Driscoll is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
View author publications

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Access through your institution

Buy or subscribe

Understanding how a raindrop runs down a window pane seems like a simple task, but the physics involved is surprisingly complex. And testing models for the mechanics of sliding droplets is no mean feat either, because microscopic surface defects almost always get in the way, making it difficult to create conditions in which the liquid can move freely. In Physical Review Letters, McCraney et al.¹ report a clever way of overcoming this problem by conducting experiments on the International Space Station (ISS). Removing the limiting effects of gravity enabled the authors to create much larger droplets than would be possible on Earth, allowing them to validate existing models for freely moving droplets, and paving the way to extending these models to complex processes such as splashing.

Access options

Access through your institution

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 609, 247-248 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02342-2

References

McCraney, J., Kern, V., Bostwick, J. B., Daniel, S. & Steen, P. H. Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 084501 (2022).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Snoeijer, J. H. & Andreotti, B. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 45, 269–292 (2013).
Article Google Scholar
Huh, C. & Scriven, L. E. J. Colloid. Interface Sci. 35, 85–101 (1971).
Article Google Scholar
Blake, T. & Ruschak, K. Nature 282, 489–491 (1979).
Article Google Scholar
Davis, S. H. J. Fluid Mech. 98, 225–242 (1980).
Article Google Scholar
Hocking, L. M. J. Fluid Mech. 179, 253–266 (1987).
Article Google Scholar
Lyubimov, D. V., Lyubimova, T. P. & Shklyaev, S. V. Phys. Fluids 18, 012101 (2006).
Article Google Scholar
Vukasinovic, B., Smith, M. K. & Glezer, A. J. Fluid Mech. 587, 395–423 (2007).
Article Google Scholar
Xia, Y. & Steen, P. H. J. Fluid Mech. 841, 767–783 (2018).
Article Google Scholar
Li, Q., Wu, D. & Guo, Z. Soft Matter 15, 6803–6810 (2019).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Fang, L. et al. Adv. Funct. Mat. 31, 2100447 (2021).
Article Google Scholar