Self-Organization of Bouncing Oil Drops: Two-Dimensional Lattices and Spinning Clusters

ORAL

Abstract

Multiple oil drops bouncing on the surface of a vertically vibrating bath of the same oil exhibit self-organization behavior in two dimensions. S.~Proti\`ere et al. [J.~Phys.: Condens.\ Matter \textbf{17}, S3529 (2005)] recently reported that such drops arrange themselves in triangular lattices, with a lattice spacing dependent on the driving frequency of the bath. We describe here the morphology and dynamic behavior of stable assemblies of large bouncing oil drops, for which we find that not only the spacing but the lattice structure itself changes with frequency, with variants of both square and hexagonal structures being observed. Large ``rafts'' of drops form soft triangular lattices with faceted boundaries. Small clusters of drops are unstable to coherent, collective spinning under certain driving conditions, manifesting spontaneous rotational symmetry breaking.

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Authors

  • Suzanne Lieber

    University of Colorado

  • Melissa Hendershott

    University of Colorado

  • Apichart Pattanaporkratana

    Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, U.S.A, Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Material Research Center, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado

  • Joseph Maclennan

    Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, U.S.A, Department of Physics and Liquid Crystal Material Research Center, University of Colorado at Boulder, Physics Department, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, University of Colorado