Water droplets immersed in a mixture of oil and surfactants will move about, propelled by the Marangoni effect. Surfactant molecules congregate along the interface between the water and oil, but Keep reading
Tag: droplets
Falling Beads
Liquids flowing down a fiber can form bead-like droplets that may sit symmetrically (a) or asymmetrically (b) on the fiber. In general, the asymmetric droplets appear as surface tension increases Keep reading
Acidic Sea Spray
As waves crash and break, they generate a spray of droplets — known as aerosols — that make their way into the atmosphere. Researchers investigated the chemistry of these aerosol Keep reading
Gathering Droplets
In deserts around the world, plants have adapted to collect as much moisture as they can. Geometry aids them in this endeavor because droplets on the tip of a cone Keep reading
“Mini Planets”
In Thomas Blanchard’s “Mini Planets” oil-coated paint droplets swirl on colorful backgrounds. With band-like streaks, they truly do look like miniature planets rotating. I love that a few of them Keep reading
Oil in Water
In the decade since the Deepwater Horizons oil spill, scientists have been working hard to understand the intricacies of how liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons behave underwater. The high pressures, low Keep reading
Storm Eyes and Mushrooms in a Drop
In industry, drying droplets often have many components: a liquid solvent, solid nanoparticles, and dissolved polymers. The concentration of that last component — the polymers — can have a big Keep reading
Droplets From Speaking
Illnesses like COVID-19 can spread through droplets and aerosols produced by coughing, sneezing, or even speaking. New research looks at how regular speech patterns produce a spray of droplets. Researchers Keep reading
Oil Drops and Filter Feeders
Natural oils provide critical nutrients to filter feeders like zooplankton and barnacles. These creatures capture oil droplets on bristle-like appendages such as cilia and setae. But this droplet-catching turns into Keep reading
Fluorescent Dancing Droplets
These fluorescent droplets of glowstick liquid jiggle and dance in a solution of sodium hydroxide. Some droplets jitter. Some rotate. And some undergo one coalescence after another. It’s always fun Keep reading