Celebrating the physics of all that flows with Nicole Sharp, Ph.D.
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Turbulence From Vortex Rings
When vortex rings collide, they reconnect into smaller, rings that eventually break down into chaos. Here, researchers experiment with colliding multiple vortex rings — focusing on an eight-ring collision. When they collide rings over and over, it creates a zone of isolated turbulence at the heart of the collisions. Many of the theories and predictions…
Little Surfer
Here’s another look at SurferBot, a low-cost, vibration-based robot capable of traversing both water and land. SurferBot’s vibration creates asymmetric ripples on the water surface. Because the waves are bigger at the rear of the robot, it gets propelled forward. But there doesn’t have to be water for SurferBot to get around! It’s actually amphibious,…
The Best of FYFD 2022
In keeping with our annual tradition, here’s a look back at the most popular posts of 2022: Lots of beverage-inspired posts this time around! It’s a good reminder that there’s always interesting science around us all the time. Also, a special shout out to Steve Mould, whose videos appear in three of the top ten…
Watery Bullseye
Concentric circles of colorful water float in the frame of photographer Jack Long’s images. At first glance, the liquid sculptures appear to be the splashes from one or more falling objects. But, in fact, Long reports to Colossal that the water burbles up from a custom-designed fountain. The effect is a very neat one, and…
To Fizz or Not to Fizz
Place a drop of carbonated water on a superhydrophobic surface and it will slide almost frictionlessly, much the way Leidenfrost drops do. The drop behaves this way thanks to the self-produced layer of carbon dioxide vapor that it levitates on. As the gas escapes, the drop eventually settles back into contact with its surface. But…
Snowing in the Core
Some rocky planetary bodies, like Jupiter‘s moon Ganymede, generate magnetic fields through snow-like, solid precipitation that falls in their liquid metal cores. To study this peculiar and complex arrangement, researchers look at sugar grains falling through — and dissolving into — water. The solid sugar grains mimic the iron snowflakes that fall in Ganymede’s core.…
Squeeze or Splatter?
Many a white shirt has met the disaster of a nearly-empty condiment bottle. One moment, you’re carefully squeezing out ketchup, and the next — sppplltlttt — you’re covered in red splatters. This messy phenomenon of gas displacing a liquid is widespread, showing up in condiments, some volcanic eruptions, and even the reinflation of a collapsed…
Self-Propelled Droplets
Drops of ethanol on a heated surface contract and self-propel as they evaporate. My first thought upon seeing this was of Leidenfrost drops, but the surface is not nearly hot enough for that effect. Instead, it’s significantly below ethanol’s boiling point. Looking at the drops in infrared reveals beautiful, shifting patterns of convection cells on…
“A Sense of Scale – Reminiscence”
In so much of fluid dynamics, size does not matter. We see the same patterns mirrored across nature from a fuel injection nozzle to galactic clusters. And no one plays with that sense of scale better than artist Roman De Giuli, whose microscale practical effects give the impression of flying above glittering alien coastlines. Ink…
Nanoconfined Water
Water is a decidedly weird substance. It’s densest above its freezing point; it has a slippery liquid-like layer on its solid form; and, in the right form, it can bend like a wire. So it’s not surprising that water demonstrates some odd behaviors when it’s confined inside a space so narrow it’s only one molecule…