Symmetrization of Thin Freestanding Liquid Films via a Capillary-Driven Flow. Author Vincent Bertin, John Niven, Howard Stone, Thomas Salez, Elie Raphaël, Kari Dalnoki-Veress Publication Year 2020 Type Journal Article Abstract We present experiments to study the relaxation of a nanoscale cylindrical perturbation at one of the two interfaces of a thin viscous freestanding polymeric film. Driven by capillarity, the film flows and evolves toward equilibrium by first symmetrizing the perturbation between the two interfaces and eventually broadening the perturbation. A full-Stokes hydrodynamic model is presented, which accounts for both the vertical and lateral flows and which highlights the symmetry in the system. The symmetrization time is found to depend on the membrane thickness, surface tension, and viscosity. Journal Phys Rev Lett Volume 124 Issue 18 Pages 184502 Date Published 2020 May 08 ISSN Number 1079-7114 DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.184502 Alternate Journal Phys Rev Lett PMID 32441970 PubMedGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML