Swimming droplets driven by a surface wave

28Citations
Citations of this article
51Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Self-propelling motion is ubiquitous for soft active objects such as crawling cells, active filaments, and liquid droplets moving on surfaces. Deformation and energy dissipation are required for self-propulsion of both living and non-living matter. From the perspective of physics, searching for universal laws of self-propelled motions in a dissipative environment is worthwhile, regardless of the objects' details. In this article, we propose a simple experimental system that demonstrates spontaneous migration of a droplet under uniform mechanical agitation. As we vary control parameters, spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs sequentially, and cascades of bifurcations of the motion arise. Equations describing deformable particles and hydrodynamic simulations successfully describe all of the observed motions. This system should enable us to improve our understanding of spontaneous motions of self-propelled objects.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Ebata, H., & Sano, M. (2015). Swimming droplets driven by a surface wave. Scientific Reports, 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08546

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free