Stability of a Drop Trapped Between Two Parallel Planes: Preliminary Report

This paper deals with the physical problem of a drop of liquid trapped between two homogeneous parallel planes in the absence of gravity. Explicit stability results are derived in the case of the contact angles between the liquid and the planes being equal to π/2, and a sufficient condition for stability for more general contact angles is derived. The present paper is an abbreviated version of a paper which will appear [7], The abbreviation consisted of omitting most proofs. I have been informed by Professor Stephan Hildebrandt that his student, Maria Athanassenas, has independently derived the stability results for contact angles equal to π/2, apparently using different methods.