Modeling of Particles Dispersion on Liquid Surfaces Available to Purchase

When small particles (e.g., flour, pollen, etc.) come in contact with a liquid surface, they immediately disperse. The dispersion can occur so quickly that it appears explosive, especially for small particles on the surface of mobile liquids like water. This explosive-like dispersion is the consequence of capillary forces pulling particles into the interface causing them to accelerate to a relatively large velocity. The maximum velocity increases with decreasing particle size; for nanometer-sized particles (e.g., viruses and proteins), the velocity on an air-water interface can be as large as 47 m/s. We also show that particles oscillate at a relatively-high frequency about their floating equilibrium before coming to stop under viscous drag. The observed dispersion is a result of strong repulsive hydrodynamic forces that arise because of these oscillations.