Dynamics of a vertical water bridge

TL;DR

This study investigates the formation and dynamic behaviors of a vertical water bridge under high voltage, revealing instabilities, oscillations, charged droplets, and levitation phenomena, thus providing new insights into the physics of water bridges.

Contribution

It is the first detailed analysis of instabilities and oscillatory regimes in vertical water bridges, explaining their physics and the charged droplet dynamics involved.

Findings

Observed three distinct dynamical regimes of the water bridge.

Detected electrically charged droplets and their levitation due to force balance.

Provided explanations for the oscillatory behaviors and stability of the water bridge.

Abstract

A vertical connection of water is formed when a high voltage electrode is dipped in and pulled out of a container of deionized water. We considered the formation and dynamical characteristics of this vertical water bridge. For the first time in this field, instabilities were observed in the bridge that led to an oscillatory behaviour which we categorized them into three dynamical regimes. some explanations were supplied on the physics behind these dynamics. We report the formation of macroscopic droplets during our experiments, which their dynamics revealed that they are electrically charged. In some cases the droplets levitated in the air due to the equality of gravity and electrical force (acting in the opposite direction). Our results shed light on the physics behind this phenomenon and the horizontal water bridge, which explanations regarding its underlying physics have led to controversial theories and discussions before.