Impact and embedding of picoliter droplets into freely suspended smectic films.

We study the impact of liquid microdroplets on thin freely suspended smectic films. Such films are very thin but robust objects that can serve as model systems for quasi-two-dimensional liquids. Droplet velocities and sizes determine the character of the collisions. The dynamics of the integration of droplets into the film can be divided into three phases, starting with the impact and a dissipation of the kinetic energy, followed by a balancing of capillary forces within fractions of a second. The analysis of the droplet shape evolution with high-speed imaging allows us to study the dynamics of this process. The final phase, formation of a meniscus of smectic material, takes several seconds up to minutes.