USTC: Science popularization work of USTC has been selected as excellent science popularization micro-video works
Recently, the Science Communication Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) released the Notice on the Announcement of the Results of the Selection of Outstanding Science Popularization Micro-video of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2020 and the Recommended List of National Outstanding Science Popularization Micro-video. The science popularization work “Capillary Coalescence at Atomic Scale” of University of Science and Technology of China（USTC）stood out among the 48 works participating in the evaluation and was selected as the Outstanding Science Popularization Micro-video of the CAS in 2020, ranking 2nd.
This work is mainly in the form of hand-drawn animation to show the principle of a result published in Nature by the team of Professor WANG Fengchao from USTC and Nobel Prize winning physicist Andre Heim of the University of Manchester, which is mainly related to the progress in the study of nano-limited capillary condensation.
The results of this study show that the Kelvin equation applicable at the macroscopic scale needs some correction at the nanoscale, and the modified Kelvin equation is in high agreement with the experimental results by computer simulations, indicating that the equation can quantitatively describe the phenomenon of capillary coalescence in the nano-limited domain. This research not only lays the foundation for understanding the knowledge and comprehension of capillary coalescence phenomena at the ultimate scale, but also has very important practical application prospects in the microelectronics, pharmaceutical, and food industries.
This popularization work is rare to show the scientific principles in the form of hand-drawn animation, with vivid pictures and accurate representation of the principles. Soon after it was published on the official WeChat public number of USTC, there were tens of thousands of hits, which played a good effect on science popularization. The top 5 excellent science popularization micro-videos (including this work) will be recommended by the CAS to participate in the national excellent science popularization micro-video selection in 2020.