Since Harold Edgerton’s experiments with stroboscopic photographs in the 1930s, we’ve been fascinated by the shape of splashes. These days students and artists can take advantage of programmable external flashes to capture this split-second moment of impact. Here, a pink-dyed drop of ethanol strikes a jet rising from a pool of glycerin, milk, and food coloring. The resulting splash is umbrella-like, with a thickened rim that shows tiny ligaments of fluid — an early sign of the instability that will ultimately detach droplets from the splash. This image was taken by students in a course that connects art and fluid mechanics. (Image credit: L. Sharpe et al.; via Physics Today)
Category: Art
“Emitter”
For this latest experimental film, artist Roman De Giuli provides a glimpse of the unique fluid art machine he’s built over the last 3.5 years. With 10 channels driven by peristasltic tube pumps and stepper motors, his “printer” drips up to 10 colors on a paint-covered, tilted canvas to create these beautiful images. As he says in his description of the invention, the set-up produces paint layering that’s almost impossible to create by hand. Fluid dynamically speaking, we’re seeing gravity currents like a lava flow or avalanche that are mixing together viscously. There’s also some added effects from density differences between different layered paint colors. Artistically, this machine offers an infinite palette of visual opportunities; financially, though, De Giuli admits its an absolute beast at consuming paint! (Image and video credit: R. De Giuli)
“Through the Bubbles”
Many seabirds catch their prey through plunge diving, where they fly to a particular height, then fold their wings, and dive into the ocean. In busy waters, bubbles from all this diving can help obscure the birds from hapless fish. Some birds even use bubbles to escape from their own predators; some penguin species, for example, release trapped air from beneath their feathers as they surface, creating a flurry of bubbles that reduce the drag they have to overcome as they make their exit from the water. The fast exit and bubbly wake help them escape prowling seals. (Image credit: H. Spiers; via BWPA)
Vortex Rings at Dawn
Vortex rings blown from Mount Etna’s vents drift through the dawn light in this beautiful image from Dario Giannobile. Little is required to create vortex rings — they are a puff of fluid shaped by an orifice — but they are relatively unusual to see around volcanoes. Etna is an exception; it happens to have one or more vents that frequently form rings. Their shape and the venting pattern of the volcano must be unusually well-suited to ring formation. (Image credit: D. Giannobile; via APOD)
Bubblegum Sculptures
Like soap bubbles, bubbles blown in gum are ephemeral, lasting only seconds. Their break-up mechanism is quite different, though. Where surface tension rips a bubble apart once it is pierced, bubblegum instead deflates and wrinkles around a hole that does not grow, thanks to the elasticity of the gum. This photographic series by Suzanne Saroff features a rainbow of gum sculptures, all frozen in the moments of their disintegration. (Image credit: S. Saroff; via Colossal)
“Earth’s Treasure”
Streams of blue and yellow braid across Iceland’s volcanic landscape in this award-winning photo from Miki Spitzer. Glacial water shows an icy blue and sediments glisten in gold. Together, their interplay creates an arresting delta viewed from above. (Image credit: M. Spitzer; via WNPA)
“Storm Warning”
A calm, sunny day erupted into a thunderstorm off the coast of Scotland for photographer Brian Matthews. Turbulent clouds streak the sky, and a downpour on the left releases a stream of precipitation. Storms like these were once uncommon in the United Kingdom, but with increasingly hot weather due to climate change, more water vapor and more energy in the atmosphere create conditions for storms like these. (Image credit: B. Matthews; via Wildlife POTY)
“Dew Point” Deposits Droplets
Artist Lily Clark loves to work in water. One of her recent sculptures, “Dew Point,” uses superhydrophobic ceramic to grow and manipulate water droplets over and over and over. Droplets coalesce in four corners until they grow large enough for gravity to pull them into a circular depression. Given their limited contact with the ceramic, the falling water droplets zip and slide on their way to a return slit in the center of the piece. You can see more of the action in the video below. Personally, I’m reminded of coins falling into a collection box! (Video credit: L. Turczan; artwork by: L. Clark; via Colossal)
“Running on Water”
In the early morning light, young photographer Max Wood captured this coot escaping a fight. With wings flapping, the bird runs across the water surface. Each slap and stroke of a foot provides a portion of the vertical force needed to stay atop the water; lift from its wings provides the rest. With enough speed, the bird will take off. Some birds, however, are born water-walkers; certain species of grebe don’t need to use their wings to run on water. (Image credit: M. Wood; via BWPA)
Wind Sculptures
Vibrantly colored fabrics move in the breeze in artist Thomas Jackson’s outdoor installations. During the golden hours, he captures that movement in photographs like these. Jackson uses tulle, silk, and other everyday objects in his projects, and when finished, he takes a “leave no trace” approach, removing all materials and recycling them into new projects. Find more work on his website and Instagram. (Image credit: T. Jackson; via Colossal)
