Though we rarely notice it, our sky is always aglow. Washed in solar radiation, the oxygen and nitrogen molecules at high altitude get broken apart during the daytime and recombine Keep reading
Chilly Soap Films
Evaporation is a well-known effect in soap films and bubbles. It’s responsible for the ever-changing thickness reflected in the film’s many colors. But evaporation does more than change the bubble’s Keep reading
Hollow Drops
When a partially-air-filled drop hits a surface, it splashes and rebounds in a complex fashion. This video breaks down the physics of the process. Upon impact, a lamella spreads, eventually Keep reading
“aBiogenesis”
Many theories posit the physical and chemical origins of life. In the short film “aBiogenesis”, CGI artist Markos Kay imagines one such theory — the lipid world theory — in Keep reading
Listen to a Martian Dust Devil
A lucky encounter led the Perseverance rover to record the first-ever sound of a dust devil on Mars. The rover happened to have its microphone on (something that only happens Keep reading
Black Holes in a Bathtub
Physicist Silke Weinfurtner studies fluids, not for themselves, but for what they can teach us about black holes, cosmic inflation, and quantum gravity. Black holes are notoriously difficult to study Keep reading
Drag Reduction for Swimming Shrimp
Marsh grass shrimp, despite their small size, are zippy swimmers. They move using a series of closely-spaced legs that stroke asynchronously. Researchers found that the flexibility and stiffness of the Keep reading
Spinning Liquids With Lego
One way to explore the effects of spinning liquids at high-speeds is to build an expensive and precise lab apparatus. Another method is to raid the Lego bin. Here, a Keep reading
“Iridescent”
Soft colors and sudden coalescence combine in this short film from Susi Sie’s team. The visuals rely on liquid lenses (likely oil) floating atop a water bath. You can see Keep reading
Toilet Plumes
Toilet flushes are gross. We’ve seen it before, though not in the same detail as this study. Here, researchers illuminate the spray from the flush of a typical commercial toilet, Keep reading