Investigating surprising phenomena at a liquid interface
During this seminar, I will present several surprising phenomena that can occur at a liquid interface under suitable experimental conditions. In a first part, I will show how high frequency vertical vibrations can be used to stabilize a liquid layer above an air cushion. Buoyant objects can moreover float at the lower interface in a way that will be discussed. Some generalization with non-vertical or spatially inhomogeneous shaking will also be considered. In a second part, I will discuss fluid-structure interactions through a ‘toy’ experiment, which consists in a ball stirred at the water’s surface by a deformable string. The interaction between the string’s deformation and fluid’s back-action leads to a wide variety of ball’s trajectories that will be described. In particular, I will discuss the existence of robust self-trapped states, in which the ball traps itself at the rotation center, as well as the impact of such states on the fluid’s mixing.
Contact Achim Wirth for more information or to schedule a discussion with the seminar speaker.