Wetting: statics and dynamics

P. G. de Gennes
Rev. Mod. Phys. 57, 827 – Published 1 July 1985
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Abstract

The wetting of solids by liquids is connected to physical chemistry (wettability), to statistical physics (pinning of the contact line, wetting transitions, etc.), to long-range forces (van der Waals, double layers), and to fluid dynamics. The present review represents an attempt towards a unified picture with special emphasis on certain features of "dry spreading": (a) the final state of a spreading droplet need not be a monomolecular film; (b) the spreading drop is surrounded by a precursor film, where most of the available free energy is spent; and (c) polymer melts may slip on the solid and belong to a separate dynamical class, conceptually related to the spreading of superfluids.

    DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.57.827

    ©1985 American Physical Society

    Authors & Affiliations

    P. G. de Gennes

    • Collège de France, Physique de la Matière Condensée, 11 Place Marcelin-Berthelot, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France

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    Issue

    Vol. 57, Iss. 3 — July - September 1985

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