Kilauea’s 2018 eruption gave us some of the most stunning volcanic footage ever seen, a tradition carried on in this BBC footage. As powerful and destructive as lava is, it’s Keep reading
Category: Phenomena
Planes Lift
Need a little refresher on how airplanes fly? The middle school students of The Nueva School have you covered with their latest science rap parody. They take a look at Keep reading
An Oasis Among Dunes
The Saudi Arabian oasis of Jubbah sits in the bed of an ancient lake. It’s protected from the westerly winds that sculpt the surrounding dunes by the wind shadow of Keep reading
Protecting From Storm Surge
The most dangerous and destructive part of a tropical cyclone isn’t the wind or rain; it’s the storm surge of water moving inland. This landward shift of ocean takes place Keep reading
Wrinkles on Collapsing Bubbles
As a bubble sitting on a pool collapses, wrinkles form around its edges. Visually, the result is quite similar to the wrinkles one gets on an elastic sheet. Unlike the Keep reading
Albedo Effect
Temperature isn’t the only factor that determines how ice will melt. In this photo, a dark oak leaf absorbed more solar radiation than the reflective ice around it, causing the Keep reading
Fluid Chains
In this video, Steve Mould tackles a question many of us have likely wondered: just why does falling water make this chain-like shape? When pouring from a slit-like orifice, water Keep reading
Superior Mirage
This photograph of a ship seemingly floating far above the water is not some Photoshop fakery; it’s physics creating the illusion. It’s an example of what’s known as a superior Keep reading
Taylor Columns
When rotating, fluids often act very differently than we expect. For example, an obstacle in a rotating flow will deflect flow around it at all heights. This is known as Keep reading
Fallstreak Holes
Occasionally clouds appear to have a hole in them; these are known as fallstreak holes or hole-punch clouds. To form, the water droplets in the cloud must be supercooled; in Keep reading