Liquid-film instabilities in confined geometries

Sol-gel methods combined with specific thermal treatments were used to fabricate porous glasses with extremely uniform pore diameters and high internal surface areas. Low-temperature adsorption isotherm measurements reveal the dynamic and thermodynamic stability limits of the liquid films as a function of evolving pore diameter. Contrary to classical predictions, the results are in remarkable agreement with a universal hydrodynamic theory of film behavior which includes substrate interactions. © 1986 The American Physical Society.