Abstract
I THINK probably no unusual forces are involved in the motions of oil drops floating on water—alcohol solutions described by Mr. Jacob. A liquid surface, unless of enormous extent, is not a plane; the influence of the curvature at the walls extends several centimetres to the interior of the surface. It is probable that the curvature of a liquid surface in a vessel ten centimetres diameter, or even larger, would be sufficient to cause a floating drop to seek the central position, that is the lowest, by simple gravitational forces; it would move downhill. The curvature in the central part of such a surface would be so small, that very minute forces would suffice to displace the drop from a strictly central position. In the presence of minute, but permanent convection currents caused by differences of temperature in the different parts of the vessel, the position of rest might be some distance from the centre, the natural tendency of the drop to move to the lowest point being balanced by a steady convection current. It is possible that the effect of the electric field in moving the drops is due to a charge on the surface of the drop ; but the equilibrium is so easily disturbed that it seems possible that all the phenomena may be due to convection currents, balanced against a minute gravitational restoring force.
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ADAM, N. Motions of Bodies of Oil on the Surface of Alcohol-Water Solutions. Nature 130, 850 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130850a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130850a0
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