A toad swims across a pond in this award-winning image from photographer Paul Hobson. The shot was actually captured from below the water, with the camera kept dry in a glass housing. Although the frog appears to be mid-leap, the light-distorting ripples around its feet hint at the flow its kick generated. It’s reminiscent of the vortices left by water striders as they move. (Image credit: P. Hobson/BWPA; via Colossal)
A slight change in perspective can do wonders. In this video, the Slow Mo Guys look at a burning flame from below. They accomplish this by mounting a gas grill upside-down. This small change means that buoyancy can’t simply lift heat and exhaust gases away from the flame source. Instead, the flow pushes out and around the edges of the grill.
The views are, as always, amazing. The billowing flames are mesmerizing–often closer to laminar than turbulent. And the added spectacle of cinnamon combusting in the later segments really does make for the kind of visuals you’d expect in a sci-fi movie. (Video and image credit: The Slow Mo Guys)
Meltwater braids like a river delta in this gorgeous image from photographer Stuart Chape. It earned the Silver distinction from the World Nature Photography Awards in their “Planet Earthโs landscapes and environments” category. Water takes tortuous paths like these as it tries to balance the local incline, erosion, deposition, and flow rate. (Image credit: S. Chape/WNPA; via Colossal)
Light shines dimly through the wall of an ice cave in this photograph by Marie-Line Dentler. Shaped by melting, pressure, freezing, and fracture, these structures are dynamic and ethereal. (Image credit: M. Dentler; via Colossal)
Haboobs are a dust storm driven by the strong winds at the forefront of weather fronts and thunderstorms. Those powerful winds pick up dust in arid and semi-arid landscapes, creating billowing, turbulent clouds that appear downright apocalyptic.
This particular haboob formed in Arizona in August 2025 and was caught in timelapse by photographer and storm chaser Mike Olbinski. The visuals–as always–are incredible. Definitely watch to the very end, as the haboob advances on the runway at Sky Harbor Airport. The tension is palpable as you watch flights line up and try to make it off the ground before the haboob swallows them. (Video and image credit: M. Olbinski)
A blue arctic fox bears the wind and snow of a Norwegian blizzard in this image by photographer Klaus Hellmich. The wind is strong enough to move snowflakes several centimeters in the time the camera’s shutter is open. This leaves the image full of streaklines that reveal the paths taken by the wind and snow. This visualization technique is useful in the lab, too. (Image credit: K. Hellmich; via Colossal)
In this latest project, the Beauty of Science team explores colorful crystallization as chemicals precipitate out of evaporating solutions. The variety of shapes and colors is incredible. To see many more of these crystalline “gardens,” check out the video below and the project’s webpage. (Video and image credit: W. Zhu/Beauty of Science; via Colossal)
Light shining through misty spray creates a liquid rainbow in this photo by Ronja Linssen. Although mists and sprays–from waterfalls, waves, and more–seem insubstantial, they can be a major source of material transfer between the water and atmosphere. Teratons of salt, biomass, and even microplastics make their way yearly from the ocean into the sky through droplets launched from popping bubbles. (Image credit: R. Linssen/CUPOTY; via Colossal)
Next time you fill your water bottle, watch closely and see if you can spot a bubble heart like these. When a jet falls into a pool, it pulls air in with it. The low pressure of the jet pulls bubbles inward, even as shear pulls the bubbles downward with the sinking liquid. If the bubbles are large and there’s enough momentum in the jet, the lower portion of the bubble will get pulled into a conical shape, while the upper portion remains a hemisphere. That forms one lobe of the heart. The other half requires a second bubble. But with a little patience and luck, you can form a complete heart. Happy Valentine’s Day! (Image credit: S. Tuley et al.)
Branching cracks wend through the slopes of Utah in this photograph by Matt Payne. It may seem strange to feature something so dry on a blog about fluid dynamics, but everything seen here depends as much on air and water as on soil, rock, and sand. How water intrudes into the porous landscape and the way it evaporates back out is critical to crack formation. (Image credit: M. Payne; via ILPOTY)