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Updated: Jul 8, 2025

Magnetically Induced Rotating Rayleigh-Taylor Instability
Published on: March 3, 2017
Rayleigh-Taylor Instability in Soft Viscoelastic Solids
Malcolm Slutzky1, Jonghyun Hwang2, Howard A Stone2
1Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
Abstract:
We present an experimental characterization of the gravity-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability in viscoelastic solids. The instability creates periodic patterns on the free surface of the soft solids that are distinct from the previously studied elastic Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The experimental results are supported by the linear stability analysis reported here. We identify the dependence of the steady-state pattern of deformations on the gel's geometry, complex shear modulus, and surface tension. This study provides quantitative measures applicable to the design of tunable surface textures, soft machines, and 3D structures.
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