Enhanced droplet spreading due to thermal fluctuations

The lubrication equation that governs the dynamics of thin liquid films can be augmented to account for stochastic stresses associated with the thermal fluctuations of the fluid. It has been suggested that under certain conditions the spreading rate of a liquid drop on a surface will be increased by these stochastic stresses. Here, an atomistic simulation of a spreading drop is designed to examine such a regime and provide a quantitative assessment of the stochastic lubrication equation for spreading. It is found that the atomistic drop does indeed spread faster than the standard lubrication equations would suggest and that the stochastic lubrication equation of Gruen et al (2006 J. Stat. Phys. 122 1261-91) predicts the spread rate.