Abstract
We study the collective behaviour of a close-packed monolayer of non-Brownian particles at a fluid-liquid interface. Such a particle raft forms a two-dimensional elastic solid and can support anisotropic stresses and strains, e.g. it buckles in uniaxial compression and cracks in tension. We characterise this solid in terms of Young's modulus and Poisson ratio derived from simple theoretical considerations and show the validity of these estimates by using an experimental buckling assay to deduce Young's modulus.
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