THE TRAIL OF THE DROPS

What remains on a solid withdrawn out of bath of liquid (or the conver se issue raised by the trail of a moving drop) is a question of consid erable practical importance, and which has been discussed at length in the case of wetting liquids. Here we are interested in what happens w hen the liquid only partially wets the solid. We observe a sharp cry-w et transition as a function of the velocity. The position of the thres hold is shown to depend strongly on the wetting conditions. We then st udy the dry regime more carefully. It is shown in particular that even at low velocities microscopic traces of liquid are deposited on the s olid.