Decades ago, engineers pumping polymer-filled drilling liquids into porous rock noticed sudden and dramatic increases in the viscosity of the liquid. Within the tiny pores of the rock, conventional (i.e., Keep reading
The Yarning Droplet
Marangoni bursting takes place in alcohol-water droplets; as the alcohol evaporates, surface tension changes across the liquid surface, generating a flow that tears the original drop into smaller droplets. Here Keep reading
Viscosity and Quantum Mechanics
Viscosity describes a fluid’s resistance to changing its shape. Like surface tension, it’s a fundamental property of a fluid that comes from the interactions between molecules. But viscosity is a Keep reading
Moody Waves
Lines of waves emerge from thick morning fog in this series by photographer Raf Maes. The eerie, slightly surreal images were captured in Venice, near Los Angeles. So often ocean Keep reading
The Return of the Ice Disk
Maine’s giant, spinning ice disk is taking shape again. In 2019, it reached about 91 meters across, rotating slowly in the Presumpscot River. How exactly these features form is still Keep reading
Laser-Induced Jet Break-Up
A falling stream of water will naturally break up into droplets via the Plateau-Rayleigh instability. Those droplets are random, unless something like vibration of the nozzle sets their size. In Keep reading
Volcanic Shocks
A violent underwater eruption at the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai caldera on January 15th sent literal shock waves around the world. This animation, based on satellite images from Japan’s Himawari 8, Keep reading
Changing with the Flow
Chemically-reacting flows are some of the toughest problems to unravel. In this new study, researchers found that the very act of flowing through narrow channels can change the speed of Keep reading
“One Month of Sun”
Get lost in the beauty of our star with Seán Doran‘s film “One Month of Sun”. Constructed from more than 78,000 NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory images, the video shows solar Keep reading
Cracking Droplets
Droplets infused with particles — like coffee — can leave complex stains once they evaporate. Here researchers show the complex cracking pattern that develops as a droplet with nanoparticles evaporates. Keep reading