The spreading and dynamics of thin fluid films

流体机械设备的小型化目前正在发生一场革命。正如计算机规模的缩小在一代人的时间内导致了生活方式、工作方式和全球经济的彻底变化一样，类似的发展也发生在涉及一种或多种流体流动的小规模设备领域。这些发展中的许多都是由医学、生化、生物分析、纳升规模的化学反应工程和微流控“芯片实验室”设备推动的。还有一些人在先进材料的开发中找到了动力，例如具有独特润湿性、电学和材料特性的超疏水和图案化表面、通过非流体动力获得其结构的自组装材料，以及所谓的“复杂流体”：胶体、聚合物溶液和颗粒悬浮液，涉及通常与直觉相反的流体机械行为。这些设备和应用在非常小的长度范围内实施，需要对流体进行精确操作和控制，这在较大规模的应用中是不寻常的。

A revolution is currently occurring in the miniaturization of fluid mechanical devices. Just as shrinking the scale of computers has led to complete changes in lifestyles, working practices and global economies within a human generation, similar developments are occurring in the realm of small scale devices that involve the flow of one or more fluids. Many of these developments are driven by medical, biochemical, bioanalytical, nanoliter scale chemical reaction engineering, and microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip"devices. Still others find their motivation in the development of advanced materials, such as superhydrophobic and patterned surfaces with unique wetting, electrical and material properties, self-assembled materials that acquire their structure as a result of non-hydrodynamic forces, and so-called 'complex fluids': colloids, polymer solutions, and particulate suspension, that involve what is often counter-intuitive fluid mechanical behavior. These devices and applications are implemented at very small length scales and require a level of accurate manipulation and control of fluids that is unusual in larger scale applications.