Electrohydrodynamics
of droplets and vesicles
School of Engineering
Brown University
Particle dynamics in electric fields is a classic
problem that continues to surprise researchers. Our experiments have
found some peculiar behaviors of droplets and giant vesicles (cell-size
lipid membrane sacs) in applied electric fields. A droplet can tumble
chaotically or undergo sustained oscillations in a uniform DC electric
field; vesicles exhibit transient square shapes. I will discuss how
these dynamics originate from the electromechanics of the soft
interface and its dynamical coupling to particle motion and
deformation. The practical motivation for this study lies in an
improved understanding of technologies that rely on the manipulation of
drops and cells by flow or electric fields.