Difference in Changes of the Surface Energy of Air Bubble and Drop of Mercury in a Vessel with Water Arising under the Acceleration of Gravity Decrease

Abstract

It is known that the change of the surface
energy of air bubbles, drops of mercury in a
liquid under acceleration of gravity decrease
increases sharply (is released) and the shape
of air bubble or drop of mercury takes a
spherical shape with minimal surface energy.
At present, the accumulated theoretical
material of studies of the equilibrium shapes
of gas bubbles or drops of mercury, fixed on
the surface of a solid in a liquid or on the
glass bottom of a vessel with a liquid, under
acceleration of gravity change, permits to
calculate profiles either based on the laws of
geometric similarity laws that greatly simplify
the essence of physical processes, or on the
basis of theoretical qualitative estimates of the
existing hydrostatic equilibrium equations,
taking into account the acceleration of gravity
decrease without carrying out a numerical
solution of these equations. The theoretical
and experimental study of the behavior of gas
bubbles, fixed on the surface of solid material
in a liquid, the calculation of the change of
their surface energy, and the force holding
them on the surface of a solid material under
acceleration of gravity change were carried
out by Shoikhedbrod with great computer
accuracy and experimentally confirmed
during flight tests on board of the IL-76K
flying laboratory. The paper presents the
application of previously obtained results for
simulation of the simultaneous different
behavior of above surface air and a drop of
mercury, fixed on the glass bottom of a vessel
with water, in one vessel arising under the
acceleration of gravity change and for
calculation of their different surface energy
and forces holding them on solid surface
changes, leading to their different behavior.
The conducted computer simulation of the
simultaneous behavior of above surface air
and a drop of mercury, fixed on the glass

bottom of a vessel with water, in one vessel
and the calculation of the difference of their
surface energy and forces holding them on
solid surface changes, arising under
acceleration of gravity decrease were
experimentally confirmed during the tests
aboard of the flying laboratory (LL) IL-76K.
The results showed the possibility of practical
use of the developed computer model both for
modeling the behavior of real gas bubbles and
drops of mercury in a liquid in one vessel in a

wide range of Bond numbers (β) in chemical-
technological processes occurring in the main

control systems of the operability of
automatic spacecraft in real conditions of
microgravity.