Spatiotemporal Evolution of Thin Liquid Films during Impact of Water Bubbles on Glass on a Micrometer to Nanometer Scale

Collisions between millimeter-size bubbles in water against a glass plate are studied using high-speed video. Bubble trajectory and shape are tracked simultaneously with laser interferometry between the glass and bubble surfaces that monitors spatial-temporal evolution of the trapped water film. Initial bubble bounces and the final attachment of the bubble to the surface have been quantified. While the global Reynolds number is large (∼102), the film Reynolds number remains small and permits analysis with lubrication theory with tangentially immobile boundary condition at the air-water interface. Accurate predictions of dimple formation and subsequent film drainage are obtained.