Electrified Droplets Create Mini Saturn Planets

[Judi Lynn]

By Charles Q. Choi, Live Science Contributor | July 7, 2017 06:55am ET


By electrifying tiny drops of fluid, scientists have created miniature versions of the ringed planet Saturn.

Though gorgeous to look at, the resulting "planet" has more than aesthetic value: The achievement could help lead to new ways of generating microscopic and uniform particles and capsules often used in products such as drugs, inks, cosmetics, paints and ceramics, researchers said.

When a drop of electrically conductive liquid is exposed to an electric field, the droplet responds by forming two electrically charged poles. Previous research has shown that these poles can get pulled toward the sources of the electric field, taking on cone shapes. If the pull is strong enough, the tips of the cones can spray jets of droplets. [Dazzling Droplets: Photos Reveal Mini Worlds]

Experiments regarding this effect, known as electrospraying, often involved drops of liquid surrounded by less electrically conductive fluids. In the new study, senior author Petia Vlahovska, an engineer at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and colleagues wanted to explore what happens when drops of liquid are submerged in more electrically conductive fluids — specifically, drops of silicone oil suspended in castor oil.

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