Weekend Science: The Mathematics Of Coffee Rings
Friday, January 25, 2013 - 21:01
in Physics & Chemistry
The “coffee-ring effect” is a commonplace occurrence that happens when drops of liquid with suspended particles dry, leaving a ring-shaped stain at the drop’s edges. How those particles stack up as they reach the drop’s edge, and how different particles make smoother or rougher deposition profiles at the drop edge depending on their shape, is the subject of a new study from Penn and the growth profiles they found offer tests of deep mathematical ideas about growing interfaces. read more