Krill and other tiny marine zooplankton make daily migrations to and from the ocean surface. Previously, models of ocean mixing ignored these migrations; these animals are tiny, researchers argued, so Keep reading
Month: October 2024
“Flowers and Colors”
Many children have done the simple experiment of placing a cut flower in dyed water and watching as it changed color. The latest video from Beauty of Science relies on Keep reading
Bubble Trains in a Microchannel
Trains of bubbles flowing through a microchannel get distorted by periodic expansions and constrictions. In these images, flow is from left to right, and the narrow point of the channel Keep reading
The Disintegrating Splash
A drop of blue-dyed glycerine impacts a thin film of isopropanol, creating a spectacular splash and breakup. The drop’s impact flings a layer of the isopropanol into the air, where Keep reading
Snowmelt
Much of the rain that falls on Earth began as snow high in the atmosphere. As it falls through warmer layers of air, the snowflakes melt and form water droplets. Keep reading
Skyglow
Timelapse can be a beautiful way to highlight slow-moving flows like those in the sky. But it can also be valuable in showing differences in speed, as in the latest Keep reading
Happy 2000 Posts!
Happy Friday and happy 2000th FYFD post! To celebrate, I played with surface tension and the Marangoni effect to make some art. For a run-down on the physics, check out Keep reading
Riding Across Water
Humans may not be fast enough to run across water, but we’ve found other ways to conquer the waves. It’s even possible (though definitely not recommended) to ride across stretches Keep reading
Martian Mantle Convection
Over geological timescales – on the order of millions of years – even hard substances like rock can flow like a fluid. Heat from the Earth’s core drives convection inside Keep reading
Wave Clouds
Stripe-like wave clouds can often form downstream of mountains. This satellite image shows such clouds in the South Pacific where rocky mountains jut 600 meters (2,000 ft) above the sea. Keep reading