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Spontaneous dispersion of particles on liquid surfaces.


ABSTRACT: When small particles (e.g., flour, pollen, etc.) come in contact with a liquid surface, they immediately disperse. The dispersion can occur so quickly that it appears explosive, especially for small particles on the surface of mobile liquids like water. This explosive dispersion is the consequence of capillary force pulling particles into the interface causing them to accelerate to a relatively large velocity. The maximum velocity increases with decreasing particle size; for nanometer-sized particles (e.g., viruses and proteins), the velocity on an air-water interface can be as large as approximately 47 m/s. We also show that particles oscillate at a relatively high frequency about their floating equilibrium before coming to stop under viscous drag. The observed dispersion is a result of strong repulsive hydrodynamic forces that arise because of these oscillations.

SUBMITTER: Singh P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2785239 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Spontaneous dispersion of particles on liquid surfaces.

Singh Pushpendra P   Joseph Daniel D DD   Gurupatham Sathish K SK   Dalal Bhavin B   Nudurupati Sai S  

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20091111 47


When small particles (e.g., flour, pollen, etc.) come in contact with a liquid surface, they immediately disperse. The dispersion can occur so quickly that it appears explosive, especially for small particles on the surface of mobile liquids like water. This explosive dispersion is the consequence of capillary force pulling particles into the interface causing them to accelerate to a relatively large velocity. The maximum velocity increases with decreasing particle size; for nanometer-sized part  ...[more]

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