Abstract. The ponderomotive force, exerted upon all dielectric liquids by a non-uniform electric field, can be used for the remote, voltage-controlled manipulation of 10 to 100 µL volumes of cryogenic liquids. This liquid dielectrophoretic (DEP) effect, imposed by specially designed electrodes, combines with capillarity to influence the hydrostatic equilibria of liquid deuterium. A simple, one-dimensional model accurately predicts the measured meniscus rise of D₂ against gravity for sufficiently wide, parallel electrodes. For narrow electrodes, where the sidewalls influence the equilibrium, a finite element solution using the Surface Evolver software correctly describes the shape of the meniscus. A bifurcation phenomenon previously observed for room temperature dielectrics is also observed in liquid deuterium. Cryo-DEP actuation has potential applications ranging from metering precise volumes of liquid deuterium for laser target fuelling to manipulation of liquid nitrogen for cryo-preservation of biological samples.

Print publication: Issue 22 (21 November 2009)
Received 23 June 2009, in final form 7 October 2009
Published 6 November 2009