Non-Coalescence Effects in Microgravity

Abstract

It has been observed experimentally that two drops (or a single drop and a planar surface) of the same liquid can be made to resist coalescence under certain conditions which lead to relative motion of the interfaces. Such relative motion may be brought about through the mechanism of thermocapillarity of forced convection motion of one of the interfaces. Such non-coalescence phenomena have been observed to persist for hours, indicative of the stability of the phenomena. This stability, in turn, implies that such non-coalescence may be put to use in a microgravity environment. One potential application is the development of easily formed, low friction, self-centering bearings for microgravity experimentation.