Abstract
The dynamics and stability of thin liquid films have fascinated scientists over many decades. Thin film flows are central to numerous areas of engineering, geophysics, and biophysics and occur over a wide range of lengths, velocities, and liquid property scales. In spite of many significant developments in this area, we still lack appropriate quantitative experimental tools with the spatial and temporal resolution necessary for a comprehensive study of film evolution. We propose tackling this problem with a holographic technique that combines quantitative phase imaging with a custom setup designed to form and manipulate bubbles. The results, gathered on a model aqueous polymeric solution, provide unparalleled insight into bubble dynamics through the combination of a full-field thickness estimation, three-dimensional imaging, and a fast acquisition time. The unprecedented level of detail offered by the proposed methodology will promote a deeper understanding of the underlying physics of thin film dynamics.
Highlights
Thin liquid films, such as soap bubbles, are ubiquitous in nature and technology
We propose the adoption of a setup for the study of thin film dynamics based on off-axis digital holography (DH)
DH in off-axis geometry is based on the classic holography principle, with the difference being that the hologram recording is performed by a digital camera and transmitted to a computer, and the subsequent reconstruction of the holographic image is performed numerically
Summary
Biological vesicles, magma bubbles, insulating and food foams, detergents, and oil foams all share most of the physics, chemistry, and engineering of bubble formation and evolution[1,2]. Studying these films is important since they mediate a wide range of transport processes, encompassing applications from nanotechnology to biology[3,4,5]. The entire research area is currently thriving with new discoveries and applications, techniques for measuring both the long-range thickness mapping and its fast acquisition on evolving thin films. The measurement of the thin film thickness evolution as a consequence of manipulation, drainage, and rupture is key to understanding such behaviors[7,8,9]
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