162e Drop's Line Energy as a Function of Drop Size – Resolving a Long Standing Puzzle

Rafael Tadmor, Preeti S. Yadav, and Prashant Bahadur. Chemical Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX 77710

The relation between drop radius, r, the force to slide it, and the advancing and receding contact angles, qA and qR, is studied. To keep the line energy (energy per 2pr) independent of r, the modified Young equation predicts that qA and qR change considerably with r. However, as shown by many investigators, qA and qR change negligibly, if at all, with r. We show why the modified Young equation is correct and still qA and qR should hardly change with r. Our results suggest that the Laplace pressure is a significant parameter in inducing the line energy (also called line tension).