A New Wrinkle in Thin Film Science

A starburst of wrinkles form in a thin film material when a drop of water is placed on the film as it floats in water. These remarklably simple experiments, done with a pool of water in a Petri dish and a low-magnification microscope, give researchers insight into whether the material properties of ultrathin films differ from their properties in bulk quantities. Credit: Jiangshui Huan, University of Massachusetts, Amerherst