Séminaire

Jeudi 4 Juin 2026 à 13h30.

Experiments in Soft Interface Mechanics: Milk Fracking, Capillary Multipoles in Plant Reproduction, and Other Stories

Kate Jensen
(Williams University)

Brillouin 14-002

Invité(e) par
Nicolas Bain

présentera en 1 heure :

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Surface and interfacial tensions play key roles in governing the mechanics of highly compliant materials, from traditional fluid capillary mechanics to the emerging field of elastocapillary mechanics of very soft solids. Our experimental work studies the role of surface tension in a variety of contexts, including driving interfacial flows that cause fracture in adsorbed protein films, facilitating reproduction in primitive land plants, and competing with elasticity in establishing adhesive contacts with soft polymer gels. In this talk, I will focus on a novel surface-tension-driven phenomenon: star-like surface fracture on milk-air interfaces. Our results provide a new approach to measuring the fracture energy of very thin protein films and reveal an unexpected role for solid fracture mechanics in understanding fluid surfaces in the presence of adsorbed species. Next, I will introduce the capillary interactions and spontaneous self-organization that occur during asexual reproduction of Marchantia polymorpha, a modern descendent of some of the earliest land plants. Overall, our experiments combine mechanical manipulation and force measurements with sensitive, high-speed 2D and 3D optical imaging to measure soft interface mechanics in both static and dynamic contexts.

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