English

Mode Selection in the Spontaneous Motion of an Alcohol Droplet

Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems 2007-05-23 v3 Pattern Formation and Solitons

Abstract

An alcohol (pentanol) droplet exhibits spontaneous agitation on an aqueous solution, driven by a solutal Marangoni effect. We found that the droplet's mode of motion is controlled by its volume. A droplet with a volume of less than 0.1μl0.1 \mu\rm{l} shows irregular translational motion, whereas intermediate-sized droplets of 0.1200μl0.1-200 \mu\rm{l} show vectorial motion. When the volume is above 300μl300 \mu\rm{l}, the droplet splits into smaller drops. These experimental results regarding mode selection are interpreted in terms of the wave number selection depending on the droplet volume.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.nlin/0502045,
  title  = {Mode Selection in the Spontaneous Motion of an Alcohol Droplet},
  author = {Ken Nagai and Yutaka Sumino and Hiroyuki Kitahata and Kenichi Yoshikawa},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:nlin/0502045},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

4 pages, 5 figures