Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 July 2020
The equilibrium condition for a liquid droplet in contact with a smooth, homogeneous, isotropic, non-deformable surface is given by the celebrated Young-Dupre equation1. This equation is based on the balance of the horizontal forces acting on the droplet. The idealised assumptions involved in arriving at the equation are seldom met in real experiments. Recently, Saiz et al have discussed the case of ridging of the solid at the three phase boundary (solid-liquid-vapour boundary) as a requirement for a stable three-phase co-existence. The wetting of anorthite on. sapphire substrates of different orientations have been studied earlier. In the present study, the wetting of anorthite liquid on m-plane of sapphire has been studied. The m-plane of sapphire is known to reconstruct in to two sets of facets and thus provides an interesting opportunity to study the wetting of liquid on a nonsmooth surface which contains linear patches with different surface energies.
1. Young, T., Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 95 (1805) 65Google Scholar
2. Saiz, E., Tomsia, A.P. and Canon, R.M., Acta Mater. 46(7) (1998) 2349CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. Ramamurthy, S., Schmalzreid, H. and Carter, C.B. (to be published)Google Scholar