Dattatray Gadkari
Entirely detached crystal growth is regarded as achievable only under reduced-gravity conditions, where buoyancy-driven convection and hydrostatic deformation are suppressed. Under terrestrial gravity, classical solidification theories predict inevitable interface attachment due to gravitational and convective instabilities. Contrary to this expectation, the Vertical Directional Solidification (VDS) process has repeatedly demonstrated stable, entirely detached growth of Sb-based crystals under 1g conditions since the 1994. Here, VDS establishes a capillary-dominated solidification regime under terrestrial gravity. Through controlled ampoule geometry, axial thermal symmetry, and non-contact growth, capillary pressure at the crystal–melt interface exceeds gravity-induced hydrostatic and buoyancy-driven stresses at the relevant crystal-melt interfacial along growth axis. A dimensionless force analysis based on the Capillary number (Ca), Bond number (Bo), and Gravity–diffusion number (GD) identifies a previously unexplored stability regime in which entirely detached growth becomes a stable steady state rather than a transient condition. On this basis, we formulate the Gadkari Detached Stability Criterion (GDSC), which quantitatively defines the conditions required for sustained non-contact solidification under terrestrial gravity. Experimental VDS growth data demonstrates that entirely detached growth occurs when Bo ≪ 1, Ca ≪ 1, and GD ≪ 1, and are proceeds contemporaneously. These results resolve a long-standing anomaly in solidification science and establish capillarity-dominated solidification as a distinct physical regime. The VDS process thereby enables microgravity-equivalent crystallization growth under terrestrial gravity, providing a predictive basis for gravity-resistant solidification without reduced-gravity environments.