Elasto-capillary phenomena in thin solids: Singular mechanics and irregular geometry

Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

The wetting of solid surfaces by liquids is a classical field of research, which has been studied intensively for nearly two centuries. When the wetted solid is a thin body, new phenomena, which do not conform easily to one's intuition, come to the surface. Underlying these phenomena is the nontrivial manner by which thin solids accommodate tensile loads and imposed curvature.

In this talk I will describe a few unifying principles, which characterize the interplay between mechanics and geometry in solid sheets. I will demonstrate these principles through a few basic elasto-capillary phenomena: the wrapping of liquid drops by solid sheets, and the partial wetting of solids.