With 22 articles from world-renowned researchers, this book offers an extraordinary commentary on contemporary research activity in contact angle and wettability
The history of modern contact angle and wetting can be traced back to the seminal paper by Thomas Young,"An Essay on the Cohesion of Fluids," published in 1805. However, the first paper on the subject was written by Galileo Galilei in 1612 when he wrote "Bodies that Stay Atop of Water, or Move in It."
Interest in wettability is far-reaching as it plays an extremely important role in many areas of human endeavor, ranging from high-tech (microelectronics, micro- and nanofluidics, MEMS and NEMS, and biomedical devices, for example) to everyday applications (e.g., washing of clothes and spraying of insecticides/pesticides on agricultural products).
The 22 articles comprising this volume originate from an invited conference held in Quebec City in 2012 and showcase many of the world's foremost specialists, providing their latest research results. The book's 22 chapters are arranged into four parts: Fundamental Aspects; Superhydrophobic Surfaces; Wettability Modification; and Wettability and Surface Free Energy.
The topics discussed include: contact angle hysteresis on heterogeneous surfaces and in multiphase systems; fundamental understanding of drops wettability behavior; computational aspects of self-cleaning surface mechanisms; utility of imaginary contact angles in the characterization of wettability on rough surfaces; determination of surface free energy at the nanoscale via atomic force microscopy; superhydrophobicity and its assessment criteria; wettability modification techniques for different materials; effects of cold RF plasma treatment on the germination rate of plant seeds; wettability of wood; wettability of the DPPC bilayer; wettability, contact angles, and surface free energy of solids; influence of surface free energy on the friction coefficient between a tire and road surface.
