Butter on a hot pan: self-regulating dynamics of melt-lubricated sliding
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866915850414456832 |
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| author | Bellincioni, Edoardo Biermann, Simon Snoeijer, Jacco H. van Wijngaarden, Leen Huisman, Sander G. |
| author_facet | Bellincioni, Edoardo Biermann, Simon Snoeijer, Jacco H. van Wijngaarden, Leen Huisman, Sander G. |
| contents | When solids melt while sliding down heated inclines, their motion is governed by a complex coupling between heat transfer, phase change, gravity and viscous dissipation. Despite relevance across a variety of domains, like kitchen physics, geophysics, tribology, and manufacturing, this coupled problem lacks understanding and quantitative experimental validation. Here we report experiments with ice and paraffin wax on a temperature-controlled ramp that achieve terminal velocities from 0.01 m/s to 2 m/s across wide parameter ranges. We develop a theoretical model that captures the self-regulating feedback between melt-layer thickness, sliding velocity, and heat transfer. Without any adjustable parameters, our model collapses all measurements, validating the fundamental mechanism and enabling predictions for analogous systems. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_09494 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Butter on a hot pan: self-regulating dynamics of melt-lubricated sliding Bellincioni, Edoardo Biermann, Simon Snoeijer, Jacco H. van Wijngaarden, Leen Huisman, Sander G. Fluid Dynamics When solids melt while sliding down heated inclines, their motion is governed by a complex coupling between heat transfer, phase change, gravity and viscous dissipation. Despite relevance across a variety of domains, like kitchen physics, geophysics, tribology, and manufacturing, this coupled problem lacks understanding and quantitative experimental validation. Here we report experiments with ice and paraffin wax on a temperature-controlled ramp that achieve terminal velocities from 0.01 m/s to 2 m/s across wide parameter ranges. We develop a theoretical model that captures the self-regulating feedback between melt-layer thickness, sliding velocity, and heat transfer. Without any adjustable parameters, our model collapses all measurements, validating the fundamental mechanism and enabling predictions for analogous systems. |
| title | Butter on a hot pan: self-regulating dynamics of melt-lubricated sliding |
| topic | Fluid Dynamics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.09494 |