I love when science and art come together, which is why I’ve long been a fan of the Flow Vis course at CU Boulder. Some of my earliest posts on FYFD date from previous editions of the course. Here are a few of my favorite images from the Fall 2019 class, from the top:
- Ferrofluid and India ink merge in this colorful photo. A magnet underneath the mixture on the left side causes the dark spikes of ferrofluid, but without magnetic influence, the ink and ferrofluid form cell-like droplets.
- Although it looks like a shower head, this is actually fluorescent oobleck dripping through a strainer. A relatively long exposure time means that it’s impossible to tell whether the oobleck is falling in a fluid stream or broken-up chunks.
- These colorful water droplets are sitting on a hydrophobic surface, hence their extremely rounded edges. I particularly like how this makes each one like a little lens for the light shining through them and into their shadows.
- A thin layer of ferrofluid reacts to the magnet beneath. Gotta love those little streaks left behind the flow.
For those in the Front Range area, the Flow Vis class will be showcasing their work on Saturday, December 14th at the Fiske Planetarium. Snacks are at 4:30 pm and the show starts at 5 pm. For those not nearby, you can peruse the art from this semester and previous ones at your leisure online. (Image credits: colorful ferrofluid – R. Drevno; falling oobleck – A. Kumar; droplets – A. Barron; macro ferrofluid – A. Zetley)