By putting a ball on a flat surface under a jet of water, one may observe spontaneous oscillations of the ball of well-defined amplitude and frequency. As a simpler conformation, the study of a cylinder shows that the mere effect of the jet is sufficient to observe an oscillation for a certain range of parameters such as the curvature of the object and the characteristics of the jet. An empirical model of the forces strengthened by direct measurements of the forces and torque allowed us to predict a theoretical period of 0.64 s when the experimental one was 0.80 s. Further, the origin of the oscillation was determined to be a dynamic hysteresis of the torque as it is deflected on one side of the can even when the jet hits its center. This phenomenon results in a gain of energy that counterbalances the losses by friction and leads to oscillations. Domain of oscillation is also shortly addressed while improvements of the theoretical model and other experiments are suggested as well.

Magnus gliders are spinning toys displaying spectacular looped trajectories when launched at large velocity. These trajectories originate from the large amplitude of the Magnus force due to translational velocities of a few meters per second combined with a backspin of a few hundred radians per seconds. In this article, we analyse the trajectories of Magnus gliders built from paper cups, easily reproducible in the laboratory. We highlight an analogy between the trajectory of the glider and the trajectory of charged particles in crossed electric and magnetic fields. The influence of the initial velocity and the initial backspin on the trajectories is analyzed using high speed imaging. The features of these trajectories are captured by a simple model of the evolution of the Magnus and drag forces as a function of the spin of the gliders. The experimental data and the modeling show that the type of trajectory—for instance, the occurrence of loops—depends mostly on the value and orientation of the initial translational velocity regardless of the value of the backspin, while the maximum height of the apex depends on both the initial translational velocity and initial backspin.

Oil foams stabilized by crystallizing agents exhibit outstanding stability and show promise for applications in consumer products. The stability and mechanics imparted by the interfacial layer of crystals underpin product shelf life, as well as optimal processing conditions and performance in applications. Shelf life is affected by the stability against bubble dissolution over a long time scale, which leads to slow compression of the interfacial layer. In processing flow conditions, the imposed deformation is characterized by much shorter time scales. In practical situations, the crystal layer is therefore subjected to deformation on extremely different time scales. Despite its importance, our understanding of the behavior of such interfacial layers at different time scales remains limited. To address this gap, here we investigate the dynamics of single, crystal-coated bubbles isolated from an oleofoam, at two extreme time scales: the diffusion-limited time scale characteristic of bubble dissolution, ∼104 s, and a fast time scale characteristic of processing flow conditions, ∼10–3 s. In our experiments, slow deformation is obtained by bubble dissolution, and fast deformation in controlled conditions with real-time imaging is obtained using ultrasound-induced bubble oscillations. The experiments reveal that the fate of the interfacial layer is dramatically affected by the dynamics of deformation: after complete bubble dissolution, a continuous solid layer remains; after fast, oscillatory deformation of the layer, small crystals are expelled from the layer. This observation shows promise toward developing stimuli-responsive systems, with sensitivity to deformation rate, in addition to the already known thermoresponsiveness and photoresponsiveness of oleofoams.

Oil foams stabilized by crystallizing agents exhibit outstanding stability and show promise for applications in consumer products. The stability and mechanics imparted by the interfacial layer of crystals underpin product shelf-life, as well as optimal processing conditions and performance in applications. Shelf-life is affected by the stability against bubble dissolution over a long time scale, which leads to slow compression of the interfacial layer. In processing flow conditions, the imposed deformation is characterized by much shorter time scales. In practical situations, the crystal layer is therefore subjected to deformation on extremely different time scales. Despite its importance, our understanding of the behavior of such interfacial layers at different time scales remains limited. To address this gap, here we investigate the dynamics of single, crystal-coated bubbles isolated from an oleofoam, at two extreme timescales: the diffusion-limited timescale characteristic of bubble dissolution 10,000 s, and a fast time scale characteristic of processing flow conditions, 0.001 s. In our experiments, slow deformation is obtained by bubble dissolution, and fast deformation in controlled conditions with real-time imaging is obtained using ultrasound-induced bubble oscillations. The experiments reveal that the fate of the interfacial layer is dramatically affected by the dynamics of deformation: after complete bubble dissolution, a continuous solid layer remains; while after fast, oscillatory deformation of the layer, small crystals are expelled from the layer. This observation shows promise towards developing stimuli-responsive systems, with sensitivity to deformation rate, in addition to the already known thermo- and photo-responsiveness of oleofoams.