Though it may look like the Eye of Sauron, this image is actually one of our best-ever glimpses of a sunspot. Captured by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, this Keep reading
Tag: convection
Rocket Yeast
Usually, microbial colonies are grown on a solid substrate, but what happens when they grow on a liquid surface? That’s the question explored in this Gallery of Fluid Motion video Keep reading
The Undisturbed Waters of Lake Kivu
Deep in Africa lies one of the world’s strangest lakes. Lake Kivu, over 450 meters in depth, is so stratified that its layers never mix. The upper portion of Lake Keep reading
“Monsoon 6”
The stunning power and beauty of our atmosphere comes to life in Mike Olbinski’s latest short film, “Monsoon 6”. Over the years, I’ve probably watched dozens of Olbinski’s videos, yet Keep reading
Shear and Convection in Turbulence
In nature, we often find turbulence mixed with convection, meaning that part of the flow is driven by temperature variation. Think thunderstorms, wildfires, or even the hot, desiccating winds of Keep reading
“Vorticity 3”
Mike Olbinski’s “Vorticity 3” is a stunning view of storm chasing in the American West. I’ve learned after years in Colorado to always look up because dramatic skies are common Keep reading
Jupiter in Infrared
This stunning new image of Jupiter in infrared is part of a data set combining measurements from ground- and space-based observatories. The glowing Jovian orb seen here is a composite Keep reading
The Birth of a Liquor
A water droplet immersed in a mixture of anise oil and ethanol displays some pretty complicated dynamics. Its behavior is driven, in part, by the variable miscibility of the three Keep reading
Sunlight Is Older Than You Think
Joe Hanson over at “It’s Okay to Be Smart” has a great video on the random walk photons have to make to escape the core of the sun and other Keep reading
Levitation Without Boiling
One way to levitate droplets is to place them on a surface heated much higher than the droplet’s boiling point. This creates the Leidenfrost effect, where a droplet levitates on Keep reading