ABSTRACT
Rupture of the intervening liquid film is the crucial step of particle attachment during flotation but is also important for understanding the stability of flotation froths, foams, emulsions and the coalescence of bubbles and droplets. The film rupture process has been described by two theories. The first theory was developed based on the thermal fluctuation of the gas-liquid interface in the presence of attractive forces, which amplifies the fluctuation, leading to the film rupture. This theory has been successfully applied to the foam (free) films between two bubbles. In recent years this theory has been used to describe the rupture of the wetting liquid film as well as the rupture of molten gold films on fused silica substrates caused by the melting due to laser pulses.
