Oil and water don’t mix — or at least they won’t without a lot of effort! In this video, we get to admire just how immiscible these fluids are as Keep reading
Undulating Keeps Flying Snakes Steady
Flying snakes undulate through the air as they glide. But, unlike on land, these wiggles aren’t for propulsion. A new study shows instead that they are key to the snake Keep reading
Mimicking Insect Flight
There’s an oft-repeated tale that science cannot explain how a bumblebee flies. And while that may have been true 80 years ago, when engineers assumed they could apply their knowledge Keep reading
Branching Light with Soap Bubbles
By shining laser light through soap bubbles, researchers have demonstrated branching flow in light for the first time. This branching occurs when waves travel through a disordered medium where the Keep reading
“Waves”
The “Waves” installation by artist Daniel Palacios appears deceptively simple, just a rope mounted between two motors. But once the motors start spinning, it is anything but. The installation shifts Keep reading
The Engineering of Culverts
Manmade infrastructure often interferes with natural waterways, which is one reason civil engineers turn to culverts, those pipes and concrete tunnels you often see beneath roadways. As simple as they Keep reading
Quantifying Bioluminescence
Some single-celled organisms, like dinoflagellates, light up when disturbed. This bioluminescence is considered a defense mechanism, triggered by threats to the organism. Now researchers are quantifying just what it takes Keep reading
Tornadoes of the Sea
This dramatic image shows a waterspout formed off the coast of Florida. Waterspouts come in two varieties: tornadic and fair-weather. Both types can be dangerous to anyone caught up in Keep reading
Pumping Through Liquid Tubes
As the tubes carrying a liquid get smaller, it becomes harder and harder to keep fluids flowing. Friction between the fluid and the wall brings flow there to a standstill Keep reading
A Hand in Hot Oil
In this video, Dianna from Physics Girl demonstrates a feat no one should try at home: dipping her hand into boiling oil. To stay safe, she’s relying on the Leidenfrost Keep reading