(382c) Non-Brownian Microrheology of a Fluid-Gel Interface

We use stroboscopic video microscopy to study the motion and stability of a planar fluid-gel interface under simple steady shear flow. External noise plays a role analogous to temperature, but with periodic fluctuations associated with the repeated build-up and release of stress. From the motion of the interface, we extract the rheological properties of the underlying gel, pointing toward potential applications in the area of non-Brownian optical microrheology.