Droplet formation from the breakup of micron-sized liquid jets

Droplet formation from the breakup of a liquid jet emerging from a micron-sized circular nozzle is investigated with ultra high-speed imaging at 1 million frames per second and within a lubrication approximation model [Eggers and Dupont, Phys. Rev. Lett. 262, 1994, 205-221]. The capillary time $\tau_c = \sqrt {\rho r^3 / \gamma}$ is extremely small -- of the order of $1\mu {}\mbox{s}$. In the analyzed low Reynolds number regime the jet breakup is driven by surface tension forces only. Rayleigh breakup is not influenced by the surrounding air. The high- speed imaging results and those from the model calculation perfectly agree for various liquid viscosities and jet velocities, confirming a universal scaling law also for diminutive Rayleigh jets.