Floating liquid bridge tensile behavior: Electric-field-induced Young's modulus measurements

A floating bridge is formed spontaneously when high voltage is applied to polar fluids in two capillary tubes that were in contact and then separated. This bridge bends under its own weight, and its bending profile was used to calculate its Young's modulus. For electric field intensities of ∼106 V/m, water bridges exhibit viscoelastic behavior, with Young's moduli of ∼24 MPa; dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) bridges exhibited Young's moduli of ∼60 kPa. The scheme devised to measure the voltage drop across the water bridge for high voltages applied between the electrodes shows that the bulk water resistance decreases with increasing voltage.