Droplets that Roll Uphill

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Droplets of a glycerol-water mixture defy gravity to climb up hill provided the surface under them is shaken in the right way. The discovery may lead to new methods to manipulate microscopic amounts of fluids. Credit: P. Brunet J. Eggers and R.D. Dee ...
Droplets of a glycerol-water mixture defy gravity to climb up hill, provided the surface under them is shaken in the right way. The discovery may lead to new methods to manipulate microscopic amounts of fluids. Credit: P. Brunet, J. Eggers, and R.D. Deegan

A recent experiment conducted by physicists at University of Bristol in the United Kingdom has shown that liquid drops can defy gravity. Droplets of liquid on an inclined plate that is shaken up and down can travel uphill rather than sliding down. In fact, if the plate vibrates at the right rate, the droplets will always travel counter-intuitively up the incline.


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