Abstract
In this paper we show how by exploiting thermophoresis in nanoparticles (NPs) aqueous dispersions it is possible to perform convection experiments at high solutal Prandtl number Prs. We describe the experimental tools necessary to produce and analyze the faint density modulations induced by the convective flow. The study of the transition to instability after the application of a sudden temperature gradient, allows realizing a Gedanken experiment suggested by Howard 40 years ago. The result is a measurement of the scaling exponent which relates the Nusselt number to the Rayleigh number.
Type
Publication
, 107-116
Roberto Cerbino
Professor of Experimental Soft Matter Physics
My research interests include Soft matter physics, living matter, cell biophysics and quantitative microscopy.