Diff. Geom, Math. Phys., PDE: John McCuan

  • Date: 03/19/2013
  • Time: 15:30
Lecturer(s):
John McCuan, Georgia Tech
Location: 

University of British Columbia

Topic: 

The Stability of Cylindrical Pendant Drops

Description: 
 In 1980 Henry Wente considered the variational stability of rotationally symmetric pendant drops and obtained a number of results for various problems.

We consider one version of one of those problems for cylindrical pendant drops trapped between parallel planes.  The analysis is different in various ways, and leads to results of a different nature.  Most notably, Wente's rotationally symmetric pendant drops form stable families which terminate at a maximum volume. We find stable families which terminate at a maximum volume, but are followed by (distinct disconnected) families of stable drops. As a result, we may have "large" stable pendant drops which become unstable and "drip" when the volume is decreased.

We will attempt to explain these results using the simpler zero gravity case as a model.
Other Information: 

Location: ESB 2012