Abstract
An alcohol (pentanol) droplet exhibits spontaneous motion on an aqueous solution, driven by a solutal Marangoni effect. We found that the droplet’s mode of motion is controlled by its volume. A droplet with a volume of less than shows irregular translational motion, whereas intermediate-sized droplets of show vectorial motion. When the volume is above , the droplet splits into smaller drops. These experimental results regarding mode selection are interpreted in terms of the wave-number selection depending on the droplet volume.
- Received 21 February 2005
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.71.065301
©2005 American Physical Society