Three- and two-dimensional effects in wetting kinetics

Wetting at equilibrium is reviewed in brief, and it is then suggested that a wider class of nonequilibrium problems can exist where an equilibrium-like behaviour is reached simply because the mechanisms for spreading are suppressed. chanisms of spreading are reviewed to suggest that experiments of wetting kinetics of liquids with varying volatilities on mica would lead to interesting results. Such experiments were conducted and the results are supportive of the models. It was also observed that when volatility and surface roughness, two important mechanisms of spreading, are removed, the drop motion presumed to be controlled by surface diffusion at the contact line virtually ceases, although scanning electron microscopy results show that they are indeed moving. le of films of ultra-low thicknesses are examined. It is seen that the dynamics of molecular scale droplets are understandable, and can be modelled in many ways, and the features these moving molecular scale drops exhibit can in some cases affect the movement of microscale drops as well. able to identify and define two- and three-dimensional volatilities and mobilities that help one to classify the spreading phenomena, as far as the liquids are concerned. The surfaces can be smooth or rough, a difference that has a strong effect.