If you stand on a bridge and watch the current flow past pylons below, you’ll see disturbances marking the wakes. Dragging a rod – or an oar – at a high Keep reading
Month: January 2025
The Snowy Salt of the Dead Sea
At nearly 10 times saltier than the ocean, the Dead Sea is one of the saltiest places on Earth, and since 1979, scientists have observed it growing even saltier as snow-like salt Keep reading
Superwalkers
Walking droplets – drops that bounce their way across a pool of the same liquid without coalescing – have fascinated researchers in recent years with their unusual behaviors, some of Keep reading
Dissolving Pills
This short film from Macro Room shows how pills dissolve in timelapse. Dissolution is a complex process driven both by flow and chemical concentration. Any small motion in the water helps erode the Keep reading
Jets from Lasers
Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) is an industrial printing technique where a laser pulse aimed at a thin layer of ink creates a tiny jet that deposits the ink on a surface. In Keep reading
Avoiding Droplet Contact
Cold rain splashing on airplane wings can freeze in instants. To prevent that, researchers look for ways to minimize the time and area of contact a drop has. Hydrophobic coatings and textures can Keep reading
Understanding Meteorite Geometry
Back in February 2013, the skies over Russia were lit by the fall and explosion of a large meteor. The scavenger hunt for meteorite pieces that followed turned up lots of Keep reading
Phytoplankton Swirls
A winter bloom of phytoplankton appears as green and teal swirls in this false-color satellite image of the Gulf of Aden. Although phytoplankton can be an important food source for fish and Keep reading
Seeing the Song
We can’t always see the flows around us, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. Audobon Photography Award winner Kathrin Swaboda waited for a cold morning to catch this spectacular Keep reading
Catching Fire
Citrus fruits like oranges house tiny pockets of oil in their peels. When squeezed, the oils jet out in tiny micro-jets that are about the width of a human hair. Keep reading