Splash (fluid mechanics)

In fluid mechanics, a splash is a sudden disturbance to the otherwise quiescent free surface of a liquid (usually water). The disturbance is typically caused by a solid object suddenly hitting the surface, although splashes can occur in which moving liquid supplies the energy. This use of the word is onomatopoeic.

Related Topics:
Fluid mechanics - Free surface - Water - Onomatopoeic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Splashes are characterized by transient ballistic flow, and are governed by the Reynolds number and the Weber number.

Related Topics:
Ballistic - Reynolds number - Weber number

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Small scale splashes in which a droplet of liquid hits a free surface can produce symmetric forms that resemble a coronet; milk is often used as it is opaque.

Related Topics:
Coronet - Milk

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sand is said to splash if hit sufficiently hard (see dry quicksand) and sometimes the impact of a meteorite is referred to as splashing, if small bits of ejecta are formed.

Related Topics:
Sand - Dry quicksand - Meteorite

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Physicist Lei Xu and coworkers at the University of Chicago discovered that the splash due to the impact of a small drop of ethanol onto a dry solid surface could be suppressed by reducing the pressure below a specific threshold. For drops of diameter 3.4 mm falling through air, this pressure was about 20 kilopascals, or 0.2 atmosphere.

Related Topics:
Lei Xu - University of Chicago - Ethanol - Air - Kilopascal - Atmosphere

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~