Rayleigh Instability of Liquid Jets
This paper was written as part of my IB Dipoma
Abstract
The Plateau-Rayleigh instability of fluid jets is the natural phenomenon where an external vibration causes an otherwise perfectly cylindrical fluid jet to separate into droplets. The instability occurs due to the interplay of inertial forces and surface tensions of the liquid. This essay explores the relationship between the surface tension coefficient of the fluid and the rate at which a cylindrical fluid jet reaches the critical state of separation. A theoretical model is constructed from the elementary equations of fluid mechanics, and high-speed recordings of select water jets are used to evaluate the predictions that follow from it.