FYFD

Category: Art

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    “Life and Chaos”

    In “Life and Chaos,” artists Roman Hill and Paul Mignot shot fluid flows live in a 1 cm x 1 cm square, then projected those images across 3,300 square meters. There’s something incredible about art on this immersive scale. It is literally impossible for any one visitor — or even the artists themselves — to experience the full piece; each person, by definition, can only take in a small part of the whole. That makes it all the more incredible to derive such a piece from a tiny, tiny canvas. As venues for this sort of immersive art spread, I can only imagine the amazing art we’ll see! (Image and video credit: R. Hill and P. Mignot)

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    “Water III”

    In “Water III,” filmmaker Morgan Maassen explores the ocean from above and below. I love the sheer variety of fluid phenomena; yes, there are classic breaking barrel waves for surfing, but there are also rib vortices and bubble plumes and churning turbulence that wouldn’t be out of place in a stormy Midwestern sky. Enjoy! (Image and video credit: M. Maassen)

  • A Forest of Ferrofluids

    A Forest of Ferrofluids

    Ferrofluids are made up of ferrous nanoparticles suspended in a carrier fluid like an oil. Under magnetic fields, they take on an array of shapes — from pointed spikes to elaborate labyrinths — depending on the field strength and what fluids they’re surrounded by. This photographic series by Linden Gledhill captures some of that fantastic variety, with ferrofluids that look like cells and nebulas in addition to mazes and tridents. See more of Gledhill’s work at his website and in previous posts. (Image credit: L. Gledhill)

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    “I See You”

    In “I See You,” filmmaker Rus Khasanov captures fluid flows that give the screen an eye with which to gaze back at us. The textures visible in the flows are incredible at mimicking the details of a human iris. These are some seriously neat Marangoni flows. For a similar effect, check out this film of his. (Image and video credit: R. Khasanov)

  • The Odd Air Bubbles

    The Odd Air Bubbles

    Though it looks like a strange underwater panorama, this image by photographer Marek Miś actually captures air bubbles trapped beneath the slip cover of a microscope slide smeared with drying callus remover. According to Miś, “Callus remover is one of my favourite agents for taking micrographs. It can create unusual crystalline forms. This time I found on the slide these interesting air bubbles before the callus remover started to crystallise.” I confess that I wouldn’t have thought to use callus remover for art!

    This image earned 3rd place in the Micro category of the Close-Up Photographer of the Year awards. See more winners here, and find more from Miś on the web and Instagram. (Image credit: M. Miś)

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    “Velocity”

    In this short film by Vadim Sherbakov, macro shots of glittery ink and pigments look like astronomical vistas. The title of the film, “Velocity,” is spot on; every shot is full of flow and motion driven by the mixture of ink, alcohol, soap, and other fluids. That means lots of surface-tension-driven flow, and the glitter particles act as excellent tracers, giving a real sense of depth and direction for our gaze to follow. Watching films like this, I always want to pull out some odds and ends and try it for myself, but I’m certain my results would pale in comparison! (Video and image credit: V. Sherbakov; via Colossal)

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    “Haboob: A Decade of Dust”

    From the right vantage point, an approaching dust storm — known as a haboob — can look downright apocalyptic. In this compilation of clips a decade in the making, photographer Mike Olbinski shows these storms in all their terrifying majesty. I love seeing how the cloud front overhead densifies as the dust below advances. Without these wide perspectives, it’s hard to appreciate an approaching haboob. When one blew through Denver a few years ago, I never saw it coming. My first clue was the tree in front of my office window whipping wildly back and forth just before the sky turned brown! I much prefer Olbinski’s versions. Congratulations, Mike, on a decade of haboob-chasing! (Image and video credit: M. Olbinski; submitted by jpshoer)

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    “Volcano Pilot”

    Today’s video is something a little different. Rather than looking at fluids and their physics directly, we’ll take a step back and think about how people relate to the subject. This short film, “Volcano Pilot,” follows Haraldur Unason Diego as he reflects on his life’s work. It’s a beautiful and moving glimpse of the life and philosophy of a small aircraft pilot. Many people never have the opportunity to see the world from cockpit of a Cessna or similar small aircraft, and I think there are few experiences that can better connect someone to the fluids-in-action that is aviation. (Image and video credit: M. Aberra et al.)

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    Martian Flyover

    Fly over a Martian crater in this incredibly detailed 8K video built from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery. Like Earth’s deserts, Mars is largely shaped by wind, and we get some fantastic views of sand ripples in this flyover. For reference, the vertical scale covered in the video image is roughly 1 kilometer. It’s pretty astounding to see this kind of detail from a spacecraft 250 kilometers away! (Video and image credit: S. Doran/NASA; via Colossal)

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    Strandbeest Evolution

    Each spring, artist Theo Jansen releases his latest batch of wind-driven kinetic sculptures — known as Strandbeests — on a Dutch beach. This video compilation shows some of the newest strandbeests, including a variety of flying strandbeest. I find their motion mesmerizing. Some stroll, some undulate, some galumph their way across the the sands. Given their size — much larger than a person and often weighing 180 kilograms — it’s amazing to see them driven entirely by the wind through their sails. (Video and image credit: T. Jansen; via Colossal)