On bodies around the solar system, there are craters marking billions of years’ worth of impacts. Many of these craters have rays–distinctive lines radiating out from the point of impact. Keep reading
Month: September 2024
The Art of Paper Marbling
Known as ebru in Turkey and suminagashi in Japan, the art of paper marbling has flourished in cultures around the world since medieval times. The details of methods vary, but Keep reading
Freezing Stains
When they evaporate, drops of liquids like coffee and red wine leave behind stains with a darker ring along the edges, thanks to capillary action and surface tension pulling particles Keep reading
Astrophysical Turbulence
Subsonic turbulence – like the random and chaotic motions of air and water in our everyday lives – is something we have only a limited understanding of. Our knowledge of Keep reading
Fluid at Work
For many engineering students, their first experience with flow visualization comes in undergraduate labs, where dye introduced into a flume demonstrates basic flow features around airfoils, cylinders, and spheres. This Keep reading
As Ice Flows
The movement of glaciers is driven by gravity. The immense weight of the ice causes it to both slide downhill and deform – or creep. As glacier melting speeds up, Keep reading
Anak Krakatoa Tsunami
In late December 2018, a landslide on the island Anak Krakatoa triggered a deadly tsunami in Indonesia. The island (upper left, pre-landslide) lost an estimated 300 meters of height in Keep reading
Fiery Backdraft
Combustion is ultimately a chemical reaction, and like any chemical reaction, it requires the right balance of ingredients. The only way to completely exhaust the reaction is to have the Keep reading
Breaking
As waves fold over and break, they trap air, creating bubbles of many sizes. The smallest of these bubbles can be only a few microns across and persist for long Keep reading
Resonating on a Bounce
When we think of resonance, we often think of it in simple terms: hit the one right note, and the wine glass will shatter. But resonance isn’t always about a Keep reading