*Spoiler alert: it’s not magic. It’s science! Just what makes this dropped cork float beneath the surface? Just like a normal cork, it’s buoyancy! But this seemingly straightforward video is Keep reading
Tag: buoyancy
Hot Ice, Buoyancy Tricks, and More DIY Fun
Here’s a smorgasbord of DIY experiments from Dianna at Physics Girl. Some are fluidsy, some aren’t, but all of them give you a chance to stretch your science muscles at Keep reading
Ventilation and Respiratory Disease
In 1977, one passenger with the flu infected 38 people onboard a flight with malfunctioning ventilation. In this video, Dianna digs into the physics of respiratory disease transmission and just Keep reading
Speeding Sedimentation
Did you know that particles settle faster in an inclined container instead of a vertical one? This sedimentation phenomenon is known as the Boycott effect, after the researcher who first Keep reading
Popping an Oil Balloon
Oil and water don’t mix — or at least they won’t without a lot of effort! In this video, we get to admire just how immiscible these fluids are as Keep reading
Dissolving Caramel
In nature, erosion patterns are driven by the interactions of flow and topography. Here, researchers study that process in the lab by placing an inclined block of caramel in quiescent Keep reading
Unsinkable Hydrophobic Metal
Although we typically describe hydrophobic surfaces as “water-repelling,” we could just as easily focus on the fact that they’re “air-attracting.” This video from The Action Lab demonstrates that property nicely Keep reading
Nitro Bubble Cascades
Fans of nitro beers — particularly Guinness’ stout — have probably noticed the fascinating cascade of bubbles that form as the beer settles. It’s a non-intuitive behavior — bubbles rise since they’re Keep reading
Fluid Dynamics and Disease Transmission
Right now people around the world are experiencing daily disruptions as a result of the recently declared coronavirus pandemic. There is a lot we don’t know yet about coronavirus, though Keep reading
Where are Titan’s Deltas?
Saturn’s moon Titan is the only other planetary body in our solar system known to have bodies of liquid on its surface. But where Earth has lakes and seas of Keep reading