A Cascade of Structure in a Drop Falling from a Faucet

A drop falling from a faucet is a common example of a mass fissioning into two or more pieces. The shape of the liquid in this situation has been investigated by both experiment and computer simulation. As the viscosity of the liquid is varied, the shape of the drop changes dramatically. Near the po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1994-07, Vol.265 (5169), p.219-222
Main Authors: Shi, X. D., Brenner, Michael P., Nagel, Sidney R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
Computer Simulation
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DROPLETS
Drops
Faucets
Fluid dynamics
Fluids
Hydrodynamics
Liquids
Magnification
Mass
Mathematical Models
Navier Stokes equation
Noise spectra
Nozzles
PARTICLES
Physics
Scientific Concepts
SHAPE
Simulation
SIMULATION 661100 > Classical & Quantum Mechanics-- (1992-)
SIZE
Topology
Viscosity
Water
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Summary:A drop falling from a faucet is a common example of a mass fissioning into two or more pieces. The shape of the liquid in this situation has been investigated by both experiment and computer simulation. As the viscosity of the liquid is varied, the shape of the drop changes dramatically. Near the point of breakup, viscous drops develop long necks that then spawn a series of smaller necks with ever thinner diameters. Simulations indicate that this repeated formation of necks can proceed ad infinitum whenever a small but finite amount of noise is present in the experiment. In this situation, the dynamical singularity occurring when a drop fissions is characterized by a rough interface.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.265.5169.219