Coalescence of liquid drops by surface tension

Abstract

The merging of two mercury drops at very low kinetic energy is observed using fast, digital, and analog imaging techniques. Sequences showing the time evolution of the overall-surface shape as well as an amplified view of the contact region are shown. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons with computations of the Navier-Stokes equation with a free surface are made. In the model, the surface is tracked by a marker-chain method.