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.