We report on the electrodeposition of ZnO with different surface morphologies. We demonstrate by three different ways that morphology is ruled by the growth rate, and therefore strongly influences the optical properties of the layers. Whereas small size well-connected grains are obtained at high growth rate, the crystals evolve toward large disoriented nanorods since the kinetic of the reaction is hindered. The corresponding RMS roughnesses ranges from 35nm to 119nm, resulting in diffusion of the light from far UV to visible-wavelength. The surface morphology is shown to be directly mastered by electrochemical parameters which enable either a 2D or 3D growth mechanism.

Pesticide spraying in agriculture involves atomizing a liquid stream through a hydraulic nozzle. The spray droplets results from the destabilization of a liquid sheet formed by the nozzle. Standard pesticide solution adjuvants as dilute solution of long polymer chains or dilute emulsions are known to influence the spray drop size distribution. Although being documented, these effects are not understood yet. In order to elucidate the physical mechanisms at the origin of the change on the drop size distribution, we investigate the influence of different complex fluids on the destabilization mechanisms of liquid sheets. We here form liquid sheets by the collision of a liquid drop on a small solid target. Upon impact, the drop flattens into a radial sheet expanding in the air bounded by a thicker rim.

The present work concerns cuspate spits: slightly symmetrical geomorphic features growing along the shoreline in shallow waters. We develop a new formulation for the dynamics of cuspate spits. Our approach relies on classical paradigms such as a conservation law to the shoreface scale and an explicit formula for alongshore sediment transport. We derive a non-linear diffusion equation and a fully explicit solution for the growth of cuspate spits. From this general expression, we found interesting applications to quantify shoreline dynamics in the presence of cuspate spits. In particular, we point out a simple method for the datation of a cuspate spit given a limited number of input parameters. Furthermore, we develop a method to quantify the mean alongshore diffusivity along a shoreline perturbed by well-defined cuspate spits of known sizes. Finally, we introduce a formal relationship between the geometric characteristics (amplitude, length) of cuspate spits, which reproduce the self-similarity of these geomorphic features.

We noticed that the first family of fermions and the Higgs boson have masses which are equal to integer powers of 2 in $eV/c^2$ units (i.e. in the Planck length units). We made the hypothesis that, if spacetime is composed of small hypercubes of one Planck length edge, it exists elementary wavefunctions which are equal to $\sqrt{2} \exp (ikx_i)$ if it corresponds to a space dimension or equal to $\sqrt{2} \exp (i \omega t)$ if it corresponds to a time dimension. By using the Dirac propagation equation and combinatorics we showed that the electron has a mass of $2^{19}eV/c^2$, the quark has a mass of $2^{21}eV/c^2$ and the electron neutrino has a mass of $2eV/c^2$. Finally, the Higgs boson is showed to have a mass of $2^{37}eV/c^2$.

The dynamics of colloids at the interface between two fluids is a crucial and timeliness research topic as it governs the behavior of kinetically arrested colloidal gels in interfacial microrheology, the formation of bacteria based biofilm and the cellular signaling via membrane proteins. Moreover, this subject is also challenging from a theoretical point of view because of the complexity of hydrodynamics at the interface and of the unexplored role of the contact line. Despite this great interest, the behavior of a single particle at a fluid interface was never directly characterized. In this contribution, the Brownian motion of micrometric spherical silica beads at a flat air-water interface is addressed. We fully characterize and control all the experimentally relevant parameters. The particle contact angle is finely tuned in the range 30-140° by surface treatments and measured in situ at 1° resolution by a homemade Vertical Scanning Interferometer. The particle dynamics and translational diffusion coefficients are obtained by particle tracking. Counter-intuitively, and against all hydrodynamical models, the diffusion is much slower than expected; the drag exerted on the particle increases when the particle is less immersed in water. To explain this extra dissipation we devised a model considering the effect related to thermally activated fluctuations of the interface at the triple line. Such fluctuations couple with the lateral movement of the particle via tiny random forces that add to the ones due to the shocks of surroundings molecules. Fluctuation-dissipation theorem allows obtaining the extra friction associated to this additional mechanism. The obtained total friction is thus in agreement with the measured particle diffusion, and in particular with its slowing down at large contact angles. The physical origin of the fluctuations is discussed in the two extreme limits: of a moving line using the generally accepted Blake molecular kinetic theory and of a pinned line taking into account the role of capillary fluctuation at the interface. Both of them lead to the right order of magnitude for the extra dissipation and can capture the measured dynamics.