Dew nucleation and growth

Dew is the condensation of water vapor into liquid droplets on a substrate. It is characterized by an initial heterogeneous nucleation on a substrate and a further growth of droplets. The presence of a substrate that geometrically constrains the growth is the origin of the peculiarities and richness of the phenomenon. A key point is the drop interaction through drop fusion or coalescence, which leads to scaling in the growth and gives universality to the process. As a matter of fact, growth dynamics are only dependent on substrate and drop dimensionality. Coalescence events lead to temporal and spatio-temporal fluctuations in the substrate coverage, drop configuration, etc., which give rise to a very peculiar dynamics. When the substrate is a liquid or a liquid crystal, the drop pattern can exhibit special spatial order, such as crystalline, hexatic phases and fractal contours. Condensation on a solid substrate near its melting point can make the drop jump. plications of monitoring dew formation are manifold. Examples can be found in medicine (sterilization process), agriculture (green houses) and hydrology (production of drinkable water). To cite this article: D. Beysens, C. R. Physique 7 (2006).