Instability of the Kolmogorov flow in a soap film

We examine the instability of a soap film flow driven by a time-independent force that is spatially periodic in the direction perpendicular to the forcing (Kolmogorov flow). Linear stability analysis of an idealized model of this flow predicts a critical Reynolds number $R_c\approx \sqrt{2}$. In our soap film experiment, we find a critical value $R_c\approx 70$. This discrepancy can be ascribed to frictional effects from viscous coupling of gas to the film, which is neglected in the idealized model. The kinematic viscosity of the surrounding gas and the thickness of gas layers on each side of the soap film are varied in the experiments to better understand these frictional effects. Our observations indicate that flow in the soap film cannot be decoupled from flow in the surrounding gas.