Shedding light on pilot wave phenomena
Dan Harris,
Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Victor Prost,
Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Julio Quintela,
Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
P.-T. Brun,
Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
John W. M. Bush,
Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2015.GFM.V0064
The reflection of a regular pattern from a liquid surface can be distorted by even the smallest undulations. We here use this phenomenon to visualize micrometric surface waves generated as a millimetric droplet bounces on the surface of a vibrating oil bath. This system, discovered a decade ago by Yves Couder and Emmanuel Fort, is of current interest as a hydrodynamic quantum analog; specifically, the walking droplets exhibit several features reminiscent of quantum particles. Our experiment sheds light on the interaction between the droplet and its guiding wave, yielding visualization of the pilot-wave dynamics.
Selected as a 2015 APS/DFD Gallery of Fluid Motion Award Winner.
See other videos from the 2015 Gallery of Fluid Motion: http://gfm.aps.org/
