Droplets: Capillarity and Wetting

Abstract

Rain is falling outside. Water droplets run down the window pane leaving a trail of water behind them, and on the terrace large puddles have formed, where the drops which continue to fall create wavelets on the surface of the water, spreading out to the sound of the rain. Little necklaces of shiny droplets hang under the balustrade and the stems of the wysteria, slowly swelling, as if breathing, then falling suddenly to explode on the ground in a contracting splash of water. Rather than sink into the gloom of a rainy day, let us observe the magic of these droplets at closer quarters.