Viscous fingers form when a low-viscosity fluid is pumped into a narrow, viscous-fluid-filled gap. The branching pattern that forms depends on the ratio of the two viscosities, among other factors. Keep reading
Tag: Saffman-Taylor instability
Viscous Fireworks
Inject a less viscous fluid into a gap filled with a more viscous fluid, and you’ll get finger-like patterns spreading radially. Here, researchers put a twist on this viscous fingering Keep reading
Evolving Fingers
If you sandwich a viscous fluid between two plates and inject a less viscous fluid, you’ll get viscous fingers that spread and split as they grow. This research poster depicts Keep reading
Controlling Finger Formation
When gas is injected into thin, liquid-filled gaps, the liquid-gas interface can destabilize, forming distinctive finger-like shapes. In laboratories, this mechanism is typically investigated in the gap between two transparent Keep reading
Instabilities on Instabilities
The world of fluid instabilities is a rich one. Combine fluids with differing viscosities, densities, or flow speeds and they’ll often break down in picturesque and predictable manners. Here, researchers Keep reading
Saffman-Taylor Instability
Air and blue-dyed glycerin squeezed between two glass plates form curvy, finger-like protrusions. This is a close-up of the Saffman-Taylor instability, a pattern created when a less viscous fluid — here, Keep reading
Inside Viscous Fingers
Sandwich a viscous fluid between two transparent plates and then inject a second, less viscous fluid. This is the classic set-up for the Saffman-Taylor instability, a well-studied flow in which Keep reading
Solid, Liquid, Both?
Materials like oobleck — a suspension of cornstarch particles in water — are tough to classify. In some circumstances, they behave like a fluid, but in others, they act like Keep reading
Dengue Dengue Dengue
Musical duo Dengue Dengue Dengue create live audio/visual performances with fluid dynamics. Their visuals are created by adding various liquids and dyes atop an illuminated background. To add extra dynamism, Keep reading
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 Keep reading