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 May 7, 2024 at 8:32 am
Now he steps onto his biggest stage. The tiny cabin, one of the few extant examples of a popular 1970s design, had no heat or toilet. But it was theirs for $85,000. These exhibitions are all ...
- Inspired by Cheerios: Scientists Develop New More Efficient Way To Capture Fresh Water From the Airon May 5, 2024 at 12:17 pm
A more efficient way to capture fresh water from the air could be inspired by a phenomenon of motion first glimpsed in bowls of breakfast cereal. KAUST researchers have observed that, when water ...
- 4 of the best looks that billionaires have worn to the Met Gala and 4 that missed the markon May 5, 2024 at 5:06 am
The Met Gala always welcomes billionaires to its fundraising ball. But while some like Rihanna stand out in stunning fashion, others miss the mark.
- Design and Interiorson May 1, 2024 at 5:12 am
The set and costume designer Tom Scutt has conjured a surreal, New York-inspired version of the fictional Kit Kat Club for the latest revival of the 1966 musical “Cabaret.” By Dan ...
- Designer Secret Revealed: aerMist Misters Enhance Outdoor Living Spaceson April 29, 2024 at 9:45 am
With innovative ideas at the forefront of home design, new technology has emerged to elevate outdoor living spaces: aerMist high-pressure misting systems. Discreet, yet powerful, aerMist is ...
- ‘Very hard to live with’: Course designer Tom Doak reveals personal toll of his jobon April 27, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Golf course designer Tom Doak has a stunning list of design credits, but it never hurts to list a few standouts as a reminder: Pacific Dunes, Bandon Dunes, Old Macdonald, Streamsong Blue ...
- Best interior design software of 2024on April 26, 2024 at 7:12 am
The best interior design software is tailor-made for crafting homes and indoor spaces. And our team tested out the top 2D and 3D software for interior design to see which ones measure up.
- 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 ...
- Liquid droplets shape how cells respond to changeon 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 ...
- Liquid droplets shape how cells respond to change, shows studyon 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 ...
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
- A Fight About Viruses in the Air Is Finally Over. Now It’s Time for Healthy Ventingon May 7, 2024 at 4:00 am
WHO now admits the COVID virus and other germs spread “through the air.” This plain language may help improve research and action to fight disease ...
- WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.on May 5, 2024 at 11:05 am
Peg Seminario, an occupational health and safety specialist in Bethesda, Maryland, welcomed the shift after years of resistance from health authorities. "The dogma that droplets are a major mode of ...
- Stirring the Primordial Soup: Unveiling Secrets of Early Life With Synthetic Modelson May 5, 2024 at 4:16 am
A synthetic droplet could provide researchers with insights into how the most basic forms of life on Earth might interact with their environment. Our bodies consist of trillions of diverse cells, each ...
- Synthetic droplets cause a stir in the primordial soup: Chemotaxis research answers questions about biological movementon April 25, 2024 at 7:14 am
Our bodies are made up of trillions of different cells, each fulfilling their own unique function to keep us alive. How do cells move around inside these extremely complicated systems? How do they ...
- 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.
- Liquid droplets shape how cells respond to changeon April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
"Liquid droplets organize cellular biochemical activities ... Explains Zhang, "Different microdomains control different things. Let's say you want the cAMP level to be high around calcium channels ...
- Liquid droplets shape how cells respond to change, shows studyon April 21, 2024 at 5:00 pm
"Liquid droplets organize cellular biochemical activities ... Zhang explains, "Different microdomains control different things. Let's say you want the cAMP level to be high around calcium channels ...
- W.H.O. Broadens Definition of Airborne Diseaseson April 17, 2024 at 5:00 pm
as well as N95 respirators and other protective gear to avoid inhaling fine droplets. But it is not clear which diseases warrant that kind of control, or what efforts should be taken outside of ...
- Smart droplets: Elevating tiny tech with a liquid metal signal-switching mechanismon April 11, 2024 at 9:44 am
where it outperforms conventional techniques by ensuring meticulous control over the droplets' maneuvers. These droplets effectively act as switches, modulating the sensors' states, while the ...
- What to Know About Cloud Seedingon April 10, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Because of this, there aren’t enough cloud droplets to combine and make raindrops. Another reason that certain rainclouds may struggle to make rain is that some don’t last long enough to have ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Control droplets
[google_news title=”” keyword=”control droplets” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]