Abstract
When a system is open to outer environment and maintained in far-from-equilibrium condition, various self-organized states called dissipative structures are generated by the growth of fluctuation as they are observed in living systems. When a viscous liquid is spread on a solid substrate, no flat surface but the one having spatially periodic stripe patterns parallel to the spreading direction are usually formed. The pattern formation is due to the growth of morphological fluctuation of the interface between air and liquid in far-from-equilibrium condition generated during the formation of liquid layer. The growth of morphological fluctuations of interfaces is called fingering and the phenomenon is extensively observed in industrial production processes that involve in surface formations. We have developed the technology for inhibiting the generation of fingering in order to involve in establishing the in vitro determination method for sunscreen efficacy and in achieving the technological innovation in the rotary atomizer for car body painting. In addition, technology for fabrication of highly water-repellent surface has been developed by utilizing the spontaneous pattern formation by the viscous fingering.
