Self-Running Droplet Extracting Regular Motion from Irregular Interfacial Agitation(Current Topics)

Abstract

Chemical Marangoni effect has been known to cause self-agitation in an oil-water system induced by interfacial instability since more than a century ago. Here, we will show some successful examples in the generation of regular motion of an oil droplet driven by fluctuating interfacial tension, by providing appropriate geometrical constraint on the motional freedom. Such realization of a regular motion will inspire the studies on the direct energy conversion from chemical into mechanical energy in, for example, living matter.