A lubrication fluid confined between two approaching surfaces form, in the
limit of thin interfaces, well-defined layers of molecular thickness, whose
number decreases in discontinuous steps with increasing applied pressure.
It will be shown that, for two-dimensional (2D) liquid-like layers, the squ
eeze-out exhibit instabilities which may result in trapped islands of lubri
cation molecules, as observed in recent experiments. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scie
nce B.V. All rights reserved.