Capillarity and Wetting Phenomena: Drops, Bubbles, Pearls, Waves

by Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Francoise Brochard-Wyart, David Quéré

As I glance out my window in the early morning, I can see beads of droplets gracing a spider web. The film of dew that has settled on the threads is unstable and breaks up spontaneously into droplets. This phenomenon has implications for the treatment of textile fibers (the process known as "oiling"), glass, and carbon. It is no less important when applying mascara! I take my morning shower. The moment I step out, I dry off by way of evaporation (which makes me feel cold) and by dewetting (the process by which dry areas form spontaneously and expand on my skin). As I rush into my car under a pelting rain, my attention is caught by small drops stuck on my windshield. I also notice larger drops rolling down and others larger still that, like snails, leave behind them a trail of water. I ask myself what the difference is between these rolling drops and grains of sand tumbling down an incline. I wonder why the smallest drops remain stuck. The answers to such questions do help car manufacturers treat the surface of glass and adjust the tilt of windshields.

Genres: Physics, Science

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Pierre-Gilles de Gennes was a French physicist and the Nobel Prize laureate in physics in 1991

Reviews

[Alan Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It is an unusual combination of an very clear educational approach and profound physics, typical of PGG. The "simple" scaling laws that are explained are easy to understand, but hard to discover. They are the mark of all of PGG's physics. They give insight into everyday phenomena like drops of rain on grass stems or the tears of wine flowing down the inside of your glass of Sauternes. I suppose that you need a physics degree to enjoy this book, but it is a much easier read than Feynman's meisterwerk. Co-authored by Francoise Wyatt, his mistress, and David Quéré, one of the many great scientists that he has mentored.

[Mike Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is really excellent book, very interesting about behavior of liquids
A little over my head but mostly accessible.
Chuffed about being able to understand some of it!
Hope to revisit after I've had some more science classes.