Bridging dielectric fluids by light: a ray optics approach

Robert D. Schroll (1, 2) , Etienne Brasselet (3) , Wendy W. Zhang (1, 2) , Jean-Pierre Delville (3)

1 Physics Department
2 James Franck Institute
3 CPMOH - Centre de physique moléculaire optique et hertzienne

Rayleigh-Plateau instability is known to impose a stability limit for the length of a liquid bridge in weightless conditions. This fundamental limit may be exceeded by using a light field to form and stabilize dielectric fluid bridges [A. Casner and J. P. Delville, Europhys. Lett. 65, 337 (2004)]. Using both new experimental data as well as a new theoretical approach, we show that both the size and the stability of such light-sustained dielectric bridge can be qualitatively explained. We present a ray optics model that encompass the competition between surface tension effects and optical radiation pressure arising from total internal reflection inside the bridge. A critical power below which a liquid bridge can no longer be sustained by light is predicted and confirmed experimentally. The observed power dependence of the bridge diameter also agrees with the proposed stabilization mechanism. PACS numbers

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Robert D. Schroll, Etienne Brasselet, Wendy W. Zhang, Jean-Pierre Delville. Bridging dielectric fluids by light: a ray optics approach. European Physical Journal E: Soft matter and biological physics, 2008, 26, pp.405-409. ⟨10.1140/epje/i2008-10336-1⟩. ⟨hal-00384490⟩