The coalescence of water drops on a substrate is studied experimentally. We focus on the rapid growth of the bridge connecting the two drops, which very quickly after contact ensues from a balance of surface tension and liquid inertia. For drops with contact angles below 90°, we find that the bridge grows with a self-similar dynamics that is characterized by a height h~t(2/3). By contrast, the ...

The stability and initial growth rate of disturbances on an annular film lining a cylindrical tube have been the focus of several previous works. The further development of these disturbances as they grow to form stable unduloids or liquid bridges is investigated by means of a thin-film integral model. The model is compared both with perturbation theories for early times, and a numerical soluti...