Capillary wave turbulence on a spherical fluid surface in low gravity
arXiv:0708.1446 · doi:10.1209/0295-5075/86/14002
Abstract
We report the observation of capillary wave turbulence on the surface of a fluid layer in a low-gravity environment. In such conditions, the fluid covers all the internal surface of the spherical container which is submitted to random forcing. The surface wave amplitude displays power-law spectrum over two decades in frequency, corresponding to wavelength from to a few . This spectrum is found in roughly good agreement with wave turbulence theory. Such a large scale observation without gravity waves has never been reached during ground experiments. When the forcing is periodic, two-dimensional spherical patterns are observed on the fluid surface such as subharmonic stripes or hexagons with wavelength satisfying the capillary wave dispersion relation.