Wrinkling of freely floating smectic films

Autor: Harth, Kirsten, Trittel, Torsten, May, Kathrin, Stannarius, Ralf
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Soft Matter 15, 6769 (2019)
Druh dokumentu: Working Paper
DOI: 10.1039/c9sm01181a
Popis: We demonstrate spontaneous wrinkling as a transient dynamical pattern in thin freely floating smectic liquid-crystalline films. The peculiarity of such films is that, while flowing liquid-like in the film plane, they cannot quickly expand in the direction perpendicular to that plane. At short time scales they therefore behave in two dimensions like quasi-incompressible membranes. Such films can develop a transient undulation instability or form bulges in response to lateral compression. Optical experiments with freely floating bubbles on parabolic flights and in ground lab experiments are reported. The characteristic wavelengths of the wrinkles are in the submillimeter range. We demonstrate the dynamic nature of the pattern formation mechanism and develop a basic model for the wavelength selection and wrinkle orientation.
Comment: 10 figures
Databáze: arXiv