Professor Detlef Lohse has been awarded an Advanced Grant by the European Research Council. The 2.1 million euros will be used to conduct research into vapour bubbles. Until now, the behaviour of vapour bubbles in, for example, boiling water has been explored mainly from an engineering point of view. The aim of this new study is to examine the physics of cooking. The research will be conducted at the Mesa+ and Impact research institutes of the University of Twente.
It is common knowledge that at 100 degrees Celsius water boils and creates vapour bubbles. Yet, very little is understood about the boiling process of water and other liquids, and how vapour bubbles form. Prof. Detlef Lohse, Professor of Physics of Fluids at the University of Twente, is therefore keen to study the phenomenon of boiling. He was recently awarded an ERC Advanced Grant worth 2.1 million euros to carry out this fundamental research.
BOILING
"When water boils, vapour bubbles appear. These vapour bubbles behave very differently to gas bubbles, which have already been researched in great depth," says Lohse. "However, we do not yet have a solid fundamental understanding of the behaviour of vapour bubbles." Lohse's group will carry out this research under controlled conditions. "First we will look at the behaviour of one bubble before examining multiple vapour bubbles. This will then allow us to examine more closely the interaction between the bubbles and the liquid."
HEAT TRANSFER
Heat transfer occurs during evaporation of water (or other liquid). The group will investigate how the heat is transferred and how this alters the vapour bubbles. "We have scant understanding of many of these processes," said Lohse. "Vapour bubbles display completely different behaviour to gas bubbles. For gas bubbles, the diffusion of gas is important; for vapour bubbles, it's heat diffusion, which is 1000 times faster. There is, therefore, little use in talking about a balance beam for vapour bubbles, since the process of evaporation and condensation moves far too quickly."
DETLEF LOHSE
Lohse has been professor at the University of Twente since 1998. The work carried out by his research group Physics of Fluids is world renowned. The group publishes regularly in major scientific journals, including Physical Review Letters, Nature and Science. In 2005, Lohse was awarded the Spinoza Prize and in 2009, he was also the proud recipient of the Simon Stevin Mastership.
ERC ADVANCED GRANT
The European Research Council's Advanced Grant is a prestigious European funding scheme for independent research leaders. Candidates applying for the grant are not only assessed on their research proposal but also on their research qualities and record of achievements.
