Category: Art

Leidenfrost on Water
When a skillet is hot enough, water droplets will skitter across the surface almost frictionlessly thanks to the Leidenfrost effect. The incredibly high temperature of the surface relative the the liquid’s boiling point causes part of the drop to vaporize, enveloping the remainder of the liquid in a protective vapor cocoon.
We see this effect for more than just solid surfaces, though. This video demonstrates how pouring liquid nitrogen on a pool of water creates plenty of Leidenfrost weirdness as well. It looks as though the initial pour freezes some condensation to dust or other particles, which then stream outwards on a cloud of vapor. Larger droplets of liquid nitrogen actually manage to hold together on the pool’s surface. Their vapor keeps them from touching the water, but that flow also jostles them, creating a ring of ripples around the jiggling drop. (Video and image credit: Science Marshal)
November 2, 2020
“Colors”
Paint, soap, bleach, oil, and oat milk combine to create the gorgeous colorscapes of Thomas Blanchard’s short film “Colors”. Watch as droplets burst and waves of color flow past. It’s a lovely break from whatever you’re dealing with at the moment, and at less than 3 minutes long, you can spare the time! (Image and video credit: T. Blanchard)
October 23, 2020
Coffee, Magnified
Sometimes it’s nice to see a new perspective on something familiar. These images show oils from coffee beans suspended in hot water, as seen under 40x magnification. The crystals you see are caffeine and the variety of shapes in the oil blobs is due to being sandwiched between two layers of glass. You can check out an image of the set-up these students used here. (Image credits: M. Armstrong and B. Pullutasig)
October 16, 2020
The Great Haboob Chase
Few sights look as apocalyptic as the leading edge of an incoming dust storm. Known as a haboob, these storms form when a downdraft spreads along the ground, picking up loose dust as the storm front advances. Winds inside the haboob can be severe; when one swept through Denver last year, my first clue was the trees outside my window whipping back and forth wildly, followed by the sky going dark and brownish. Photographer Mike Olbinksi’s short film offers a far better vantage, letting viewers appreciate the towering cloud as it bears down. (Video and image credit: M. Olbinski)
October 9, 2020
Psychedelic Soap Film
Macro images of a soap film burst with color. Because the color comes from interference between light waves bouncing off the inner and outer surfaces of the soap film, the colors we see correspond directly to the thickness of the soap film. So the patterns we see reflect actual flows and variations inside the soap film. It’s not unusual for the patterning on a soap film to become increasingly complicated as the film drains and ages. Eventually black spots — areas too thin for interference to show visible colors — will appear and grow, and the film will pop.
If you’re interested in trying out some soap film photography for yourself, Professor Andrew Davidhazy has a nice description on his website of the set-up he used for this photo. (Image credit: A. Davidhazy; via Flow Vis)
October 2, 2020
As the Fog Rolls In
Although we talk about fog rolling in, it’s rare for us to have a perspective where we can truly appreciate that flow. But this photograph from Tanmay Sapkal provides just that for the low summer fogs sweeping over Marin, CA. When hot summer temperatures make inland air rise, cold, moist air from the ocean sweeps in to replace it. Once the moisture condenses, it forms thick, low clouds of fog that surge past the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco Bay. (Image credit: T. Sapkal; via NatGeo)
September 25, 2020
Dendritic
“What happens when two scientists, a composer, a cellist, and a planetarium animator make art?” The answer is “Dendritic,” a musical composition built directly on the tree-like branching patterns found when a less viscous fluid is injected into a more viscous one sandwiched between two plates.
Normally this viscous fingering instability results in dense, branching fingers, but when there’s directional dependence in the fluid, the pattern transitions instead to one that’s dendritic. In this case, that directionality comes from liquid crystals, whose are rod-like shape makes it easier for liquid to flow in the direction aligned with the rods.
For more on the science, math, and music behind the piece, check out this description from the scientists and composer. (Video, image, and submission credit: I. Bischofberger et al.)
September 17, 2020
Fluorescent Dancing Droplets
These fluorescent droplets of glowstick liquid jiggle and dance in a solution of sodium hydroxide. Some droplets jitter. Some rotate. And some undergo one coalescence after another. It’s always fun to see how fluid dynamics and chemistry combine! (Image and video credit: Beauty of Science)
September 11, 2020
Painting on Water With Ebru
Ebru is the South West Asian art of painting atop water, similar to suminagashi in Japan or paper marbling in European culture. This video takes you inside the studio of Garip Ay, a Turkish ebru artist, letting you observe some of the tools and techniques he uses. Ay’s painting are incredibly dynamic, transforming from one image to something entirely different as he applies more dye, adds a surfactant, or draws a clean brush through the liquid. (Video and image credit: Great Big Story; artist: G. Ay; via Colossal)
September 4, 2020
Ferrofluid Snakes
We’re used to seeing ferrofluids — with their suspended iron nanoparticles — as spiky fluids when exposed to a magnetic field. But this is not always the case. Here, the ferrofluid is immersed in a thin liquid layer — window cleaner, in this case — and when a magnet is brought near, it forms snake-like, labyrinthine lines. (Image credit: M. Carter et al.)
August 28, 2020