Almost everyone has tried skipping rocks across the surface of a pond or lake. Here Professor Tadd Truscott gives a primer on the physics of rock skipping, including some high-speed Keep reading
Month: November 2024
Humpback-Inspired Turbine Blades
The bumps–or tubercles–on the edge of a humpback whale’s fins have important hydrodynamic effects on its swimming. Here dye is used to visualize flow over a hydrofoil with tubercle-like protuberances–a Keep reading
Spin-Up
With the Oscars just over, it seems like a good time for some movie-trailer-style fluid dynamics. This video shows a rotating water tank from the perspective of a camera rotating Keep reading
Dye Flow
Fluid flow near a surface–inside the boundary layer–can often be unstable. This image shows one possible instability, formed when a cylinder is rotated back and forth about its longitudinal axis. This Keep reading
Etna’s Eruption
After some rumblings in recent weeks, Italy’s Mt. Etna erupted overnight on February 19th, sending fountains of lava shooting into the dark. This impressive video from Klaus Dorschfeldt, a videographer Keep reading
Fishbones
When two liquid jets collide, they can form an array of shapes ranging from a chain-like stream or a liquid sheet to a fishbone-type structure of periodic droplets. This series Keep reading
Laser-Induced Fluorescence
As demonstrated in the video above, lasers can be used to excite molecules into a higher energy state, which will decay via the emission of photons, causing the medium to Keep reading
Jump in a Lake
Ever wonder what would happen if every person on earth jumped into a lake at the same time? Wonder no more! Physicist Rhett Allain breaks it down over at Dot Keep reading
Liquid Sculptures
Artist Corrie White uses dyes and droplets to capture fantastical liquid sculptures at high-speed. The mushroom-like upper half of this photo is formed when the rebounding jet from one droplet’s Keep reading
The 9th Pitch Drop is Coming
Remember that 83-year-old pitch drop experiment designed to measure the viscosity of pitch? Well, rumor has it that the ninth drop is due to fall at any time. Will you catch it Keep reading