I’ve long been a fan of exploring fluid dynamics from my own kitchen, and I’m far from the only one. One of the pioneers of interfacial physics developed most of Keep reading
Month: September 2024
Lava Landscapes
Lava flows are, by definition, transient. In his LAVA series, photographer Jan Erik Waider explores the changing vistas and textures of Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano eruption. Using a telephoto lens, he Keep reading
Backflipping Bubbles
Rising bubbles can backflip when they impact a tilted surface. As shown in this video, small bubbles will bounce off a titled surface, with each hop leading the bubble further Keep reading
Quantum Instability
In our everyday lives, two fluids moving past one another often form a wave-like pattern thanks to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. We see it in the curl of waves on the Keep reading
Rocked By Waves
This astronaut photo shows the Isles of Scilly off the Cornish coast. The pale turquoise waters mark shallow reefs and shoals between the islands while blues reveal deeper waters surrounding Keep reading
Everlasting Bubbles
Soap bubbles are delicate and ephemeral, always a breath away from collapse due to thinning driven by gravity or evaporation. But that frailty can be countered. Adding microparticles to the Keep reading
Frozen Wind-Sculpted Sands
On the cold, wind-swept beaches of Lake Michigan, the sands sometimes turn into a landscape of miniature hoodoos. Strong winds erode the frozen sand into these shapes, which last only Keep reading
Butterflies Emerging
When a butterfly emerges from its chrysalis, it flaps its wings to help pump fluids through its body, essentially inflating its new adult form. You get a glimpse of that Keep reading
Stopping The Drop
When a droplet falls on a mesh surface, some of the liquid can burst through the holes (top row). But subsequent drops have a harder time penetrating the prewetted mesh. Keep reading
Streaks of Sea Ice
As summer approaches in the Southern Ocean, sea ice melts, but the process is not purely one-way. Temperatures in some locations are cold enough for some limited new freezing. The Keep reading