Videos

Electrohydrodynamic instabilities of viscous drops in strong electric fields

Presenter
March 12, 2018
Keywords:
  • electrohydrodynamics, leaky dielectric, streaming
Abstract
A classic result due to G.I.Taylor is that a weakly conducting drop bearing zero net charge placed in a uniform electric field adopts a prolate or oblate spheroidal shape, the flow and shape being axisymmetrically aligned with the applied field. Here I will overview some intriguing symmetry--breaking instabilities (Quincke rotation resulting in drop steady tilt or tumbling, and pattern formation on the surface of a particle-coated drop), and the streaming from the drop equator that creates visually striking “Saturn-rings” around the drop.