By designing droplets using electricity, researchers have opened new possibilities in physics.
This technique could possibly be used for everything from extracting oil from wells to creating makeup and food.
You’ve seen Hollandaise sauce or mayonnaise that has separated, or that shiny layer of oil that forms on top of skin cream. This mixture of water and oil is called an emulsion, but it can be difficult to keep emulsions from separating. A special substance called an emulsifier is used to keep the mixture stable and prevent separation.
This is an ongoing problem for the food and medical industries, as well as for oil recovery. In fact, the petroleum industry also has to deal with the opposite problem, which is to separate oil that is pumped up from a well in a mix of water and gas.
Now, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have found a new method to control how drops of oil behave, using electricity. The results were published in late June in the prestigious journal Nature Communications.
The “pupil effect”
“We have conducted a very simple experiment to show that we can control particles on the surface of oil droplets using an electric field,” explains Jon Otto Fossum, a professor in the Department of Physics at the university.
The researchers used micrometre-sized particles of clay and silicone oil droplets for their experiment. First, the clay particles coated the droplet, but when the voltage was turned on, the clay particles made a ring around the drop. By controlling the strength of the electrical voltage, researchers can control how the particles accumulate in the ring, much like the way your eye controls how much the pupil opens in response to light.
The researchers were also able to control the emulsion’s properties with electricity. Its features can be turned on and off quickly, without adding new chemicals.
Food, medicine, and more oil?
The new method may possibly be useful in the production of foods, household products, and cosmetics, as well as in developing new ways to transport drugs in the body and for enhanced oil recovery. The “pupil effect” may possibly also be used as an optical element controlled by an electric voltage.
“It is also interesting that we have shown that we can use an electric voltage and environmentally friendly clay particles to control droplets, which means that we might be able to design these kinds of emulsions without adding chemicals. This could be important for applications where you want to avoid introducing foreign chemicals into the environment, such as in the oil industry,” says Fossum.
More ideas
The Latest Bing News on:
Designer droplets
- Art and Designon April 24, 2024 at 11:02 pm
Every art institution now speaks of progress, justice, transformation. What if all those words hide a more old-fashioned aim? By Jason Farago From bananas as art to bullet-riddled panels: The ...
- Synthetic droplets cause a stir in the primordial soupon April 24, 2024 at 10:01 pm
The synthetic droplets contain the enzyme urease which catalyzes the breakdown of urea into ammonia, which has a high pH-value. Droplets migrate due to the pH gradient, from low to high ...
- We Tested Nearly 1,000 New Beauty Products to Find the Ones Actually Worth Buying in 2024on April 23, 2024 at 1:00 am
Dozens of micro-droplets of hyaluronic acid are injected into skin to hydrate ... Lab Results: It had the strongest power and ranked best for design, simplicity of use and ability to create the ...
- Liquid droplets shape how cells respond to change, shows studyon April 22, 2024 at 2:49 pm
Healthy cells respond appropriately to changes in their environment. They do this by sensing what's happening outside and relaying a command to the precise biomolecule in the precise domain that can ...
- Liquid droplets shape how cells respond to changeon April 22, 2024 at 10:04 am
The authors of this paper are hoping to investigate whether other cancers also cause a loss of liquid droplets and what the molecular mechanisms are behind it. Their ultimate goal is to design a ...
- Infinity Drain® and Gensler unveil visually stunning linear drain design inspired by the science of adhesionon April 22, 2024 at 5:59 am
The Adhesion linear drain began shipping on February 5. It is offered as part of Infinity Drain’s patented Site Sizable® and fixed length linear drain series in a variety of lengths and ten finishes.
- Cells use liquid droplets to regulate signaling pathways, study findson April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The authors of this paper are hoping to investigate whether other cancers also cause a loss of liquid droplets and what the molecular mechanisms are behind it. Their ultimate goal is to design a ...
- New Physics at Play: Physicists Discover a New Force Acting on Water Droplets Moving Over Superhydrophobic Surfaceson April 20, 2024 at 9:13 pm
Researchers at Aalto University have discovered a new force acting on water droplets moving over superhydrophobic surfaces like black silicon by adapting a novel force measurement technique to uncover ...
- WHO clarifies what counts as a pathogen that can spread through the airon April 18, 2024 at 2:43 pm
Around that same time, a group of scientists urged WHO to be more forthcoming about the likelihood that people can catch the virus from droplets floating in the air. If the new WHO report had been ...
- In Australia, ‘Cats Are Just Catastrophic’on April 16, 2024 at 7:17 am
Feral cats take a heavy toll on the world’s wildlife, especially Down Under. The solution? Smarter traps, sharpshooters, survival camp for prey species, and the “Felixer.” ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Designer droplets
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Designer droplets” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Control droplets
- “Vampire facials” at unlicensed spa cause multiple women to contract HIVon April 26, 2024 at 5:07 am
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have said that “vampire facials” conducted in an unlicensed New Mexico spa caused multiple women to contract HIV. It’s the first time that the ...
- What parents should know about measleson April 25, 2024 at 10:25 pm
You might think of measles as an old-time disease — and you’d be right. Measles used to be a common childhood disease decades ago, but is rare today in this country thanks to widespread vaccination.
- Synthetic droplets cause a stir in the primordial soup: Chemotaxis research answers questions about biological movementon April 25, 2024 at 7:14 am
Simple yet profound questions like these are at the heart of curiosity-driven basic research, which focuses on the fundamental principles of natural phenomena. An important example is the process by ...
- Synthetic droplets cause a stir in the primordial soupon April 24, 2024 at 10:01 pm
came together to answer basic questions about chemotaxis by creating synthetic droplets to mimic the phenomena in the lab, allowing them to precisely isolate, control and study the phenomena.
- Bird flu in US cows: is the milk supply safe?on April 24, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Pasteurized milk is probably not a threat to people, but fresh milk droplets on milking equipment could be spreading the virus in a herd.
- With whooping cough cases on the rise, do you need a booster vaccine?on April 22, 2024 at 3:04 pm
As whooping cough (pertussis) cases surge globally, experts offer their insights on symptoms, prevention and vaccination requirements. Here's what you need to know to stay safe.
- Liquid droplets shape how cells respond to change, shows studyon April 22, 2024 at 2:49 pm
Healthy cells respond appropriately to changes in their environment. They do this by sensing what's happening outside and relaying a command to the precise biomolecule in the precise domain that can ...
- W.H.O. Broadens Definition of Airborne Diseaseson April 18, 2024 at 3:00 am
After a drawn-out global controversy over the coronavirus, the W.H.O. has updated its classification of how pathogens spread through the air.
- UB researcher awarded Hypothesis Fund to explore if RNA droplets helped originate life on Earthon April 16, 2024 at 5:01 pm
UB faculty member Priya R. Banerjee believes the key to solving this puzzle may be RNA’s intrinsic ability to form liquid-like droplets at high temperatures, which may have protected it from harsh ...
- Physicists explain--and eliminate--unknown force dragging against water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaceson April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Researchers adapt a novel force measurement technique to uncover the previously unidentified physics at play at the thin air-film gap between water droplets and superhydrophobic surfaces.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Control droplets
[google_news title=”” keyword=”control droplets” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]