Shape oscillations of a charged diamagnetically-levitated droplet

TL;DR

This study examines how electrical charge influences the vibrational frequencies of diamagnetically levitated water droplets, comparing experimental measurements with classical theoretical predictions and finding good agreement.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental validation of Lord Rayleigh's theoretical predictions for charged diamagnetically levitated droplets.

Findings

Measured vibrational frequencies match theoretical values.

Electrical charge affects normal mode frequencies.

Good agreement with classical Rayleigh theory.

Abstract

We investigate the effect of electrical charge on the normal mode frequencies of electrically-charged diamagnetically levitated water droplets with radii 4.5-7.5 mm using diamagnetic levitation. This technique allows us to levitate almost spherical droplets and therefore to directly compare the measured vibrational frequencies of the first seven modes of the charged droplet with theoretical values calculated by Lord Rayleigh, for which we find good agreement.