Unusually high rainfall in Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni turned the world’s largest salt flat into a shallow salt lake. These natural-color satellite images show the area in late January 2022. Keep reading
Tag: dissolution
Dissolving Pinnacles
Limestone and other water-soluble rocks sometimes form sharp stone pinnacles like the ones seen here in Borneo. Scientists have recreated these structures in the laboratory simply by immersing water-soluble substances Keep reading
Conserving the Hill House
In 1904, Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh created the Hill House, a masterpiece of modern design decades ahead of its time. Unfortunately, the Portland cement used for the house’s exterior Keep reading
How Sinkholes Form
Growing up in the Ozarks, I explored my fair share of caves and sinkholes. These geological features form when flowing groundwater erodes soil, sand, and even rock underground. The Ozark Keep reading
Uncovering Erosion Patterns
Gypsum and limestone cliffs sometimes form patterns of long, parallel grooves known as rillenkarren. Recent research shows that these patterns form when a thin layer of water flows over a 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
Replacing Injections With Pills
In medicine, many medications contain molecules too large to be easily absorbed through the intestinal wall, so these so-called biologics — like the insulin administered to diabetics — are injected Keep reading
Paint Versus Hydrogel
In this bizarre short film, we get to see a battle between dissolution and absorption. I think the Chemical Bouillon team has coated hydrogel beads in a layer of paint Keep reading
Turning a Corner in Microfluidics
Over the past couple decades, microfluidic devices have become a staple of medical and biological diagnostics and analysis. Tests that once required large and specialized equipment can now be completed closer to Keep reading
The Disappearing Cotton Candy
Moisture is cotton candy’s natural enemy. The spun sugar dissolves incredibly quickly under the influence of even a couple drops of water. Why that’s so is clearer when looking at Keep reading