Monday, 23 April 2007 - 9:20 AM
10e

Relating Contact Angles, Drop Size and Line Energy

Preeti S. Yadav, Prashant Bahadur, Kumud Chaurasia, and Rafael Tadmor. Chemical Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX 77710

The relation between drop radius, r, the force to slide it, and the advancing and receding contact angles, θA and θR, has been studied. To keep the line energy (energy per 2πr) independent of r, the modified Young equation predicts that θA and θR change considerably with r. As shown by many investigators, θA and θR change negligibly, if at all, with r. We show why the modified Young equation is correct and still θA and θR should hardly change with r. Our results suggest that the Laplace pressure is a significant parameter in inducing the line energy.