Detection of a Dynamic Cone-Shaped Meniscus on the Surface of Fluids in Electric Fields
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 054501 – Published 5 February, 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.054501
Abstract
A cone-shaped meniscus of electrified fluids, often called a Taylor cone, is observed in rain drops and lightning and employed in various physical instruments and experimental techniques, but the way it evolves from a rounded shape to a cone is a long-standing puzzle. Earth’s gravity and microgravity measurements on the meniscus whose height is just shy of droplet ejection reveal that field-driven cusp evolution exhibits a universal self-similarity insensitive to the forcing field and scaled by the fluid surface tension and density. Our work paves the way for dynamic control of field-driven phenomena in fluids.