Instant freezing of impacting wax drops

ORAL

Abstract

We present the impact of hot liquid drops of wax on surfaces whose temperature is below the solidifying temperature of the drops. During the fall the drops remain mostly liquid, but upon impact, their temperature quickly decreases resulting in the solidification of the drop. Depending on the impact energy, drops size and the temperature difference between the drop and the surface this results in plethora of solid shapes: simple lenses, triangular drops, spherical caps and popped popcorn shapes.

Authors

  • Alexandre Ponomarenko

    Harvard University

  • Emmanuel Virot

    LadHyX, Ecole Polytechnique, Harvard University

  • Shmuel Rubinstein

    Harvard University