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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Visualization of High Speed Liquid Jet Impaction on a Moving Surface
Published on: April 17, 2015
Precursors to splashing of liquid droplets on a solid surface
Shreyas Mandre1, Madhav Mani, Michael P Brenner
1School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. shreyas@seas.harvard.edu
Abstract:
A high velocity impact between a liquid droplet and a solid surface produces a splash. Classical work traced the origin of the splash to a thin sheet of fluid ejected near the impact point. Mechanisms of sheet formation have heretofore relied on initial contact of the droplet and the surface. We demonstrate that, neglecting intermolecular forces between the liquid and the solid, the liquid does not contact the solid, and instead spreads on a very thin air film. The interface of the droplet develops a high curvature and emits capillary waves.
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