Smartphone-Assisted Demonstration of Hydrophobicity and the Electrowetting Effect

• Amit Kumar Sharma ^[1] ; Diwakar Singh ^[1] ; Gurpreet Singh ^[2] ; Rahul Vaish ^[1]
  1. [1] Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, India
  2. [2] Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, India
• Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 63, Nº. 9, 2025, págs. 782-785
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Wettability refers to the ability of a liquid to spread on a solid surface. This well-researched property of a solid–liquid interface plays an indispensable role in the fields of anti-icing,1 self-cleaning,2 fog harvesting,3 water energy harvesting,4 microfluidic channels,5 oil/water separation,6 and thermal management.7 In nature, certain plants and animals have evolved unique wetting characteristics to survive in harsh conditions. For example, lotus leaves possess properties that enable them to naturally stay clean in marshy surroundings, and there is a beetle in the Namib desert that grabs water from the air to stay alive in a super dry place.8 Nature has always been a source of inspiration for the researchers to develop surfaces with specific wettability to meet specific requirements. Biomimetics is the field of research wherein researchers carefully observe, study, and mimic naturally occurring surfaces such as rice leaves, lotus leaves, desert beetles, gecko feet, duck feathers, etc., to fabricate surfaces ranging from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic for a variety of applications.