Collapse Dynamics in Rotating Thin Films

We study the collapse of a dry cavity in a thin fluid film. Collapse dynamics driven by viscous gravity currents is well described by a self similar solution of the thin film equation. In the current analysis we include surface tension effects. We find both experimentally and numerically that for small capillary numbers, the collapse dynamics retains its power law scaling behavior, but with a power law clearly distinct from viscous collapse dynamics.