71th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (November 18, 2018 — November 20, 2018)

V0097: Hoverdrops: Flying Fizzy Fluids

Authors

• Divya Panchanathan, MIT
• Philippe Bourrianne, MIT
• Phillippe Nicollier, MIT
• Abhijatmedhi Chotrattanapituk, MIT
• Kripa Varanasi, MIT
• Gareth McKinley, MIT

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2018.GFM.V0097

It is commonly observed that when a water droplet is placed on a very hot surface, it beads up into a spherical shape instead of wetting the surface. This is because a thin layer of vapor insulating the droplet from the surface causes the droplet to be in a levitated state. This video shows how carbon dioxide gas generated from a fizzy water droplet promotes self-levitation of the droplet on a non-wetting surface at room temperature. This phenomena has potential applications in enhancing droplet mobility, driving droplet self-propulsion, and suppressing bubble nucleation.