FYFD

Tag: fluids as art

  • The Delta Series

    The Delta Series

    It’s easy in the rush of our daily lives to forget just how dynamic rivers are. In his “Delta Series” conservation photographer Paul Nicklen explores that ever-changing nature from above the Colorado River delta. With the ongoing megadrought in this region and ever-increasing demands for more water, the Colorado no longer flows to the ocean. It trickles its way to a tired end near Baja, Mexico, where its last gasp is not enough to sustain ecosystems that relied on the river’s irrigation long before us. Nicklen’s work is a beautiful portrait of the fractal, tree-like patterns of a slowing river. Find more of Nicklen’s work on his website and Instagram. (Image credit: P. Nicklen; via Colossal)

  • A Comet’s Tail Swept Away

    A Comet’s Tail Swept Away

    On Christmas Day 2021, Comet Leonard put on a show in our skies. Though the comet was a pale streak to the naked eye, photographer Gerald Rhemann caught a striking event: the moment part of the comet’s tail disconnected from its body. The solar wind swept the comet’s gas and dust away. Though I’ve talked about the fluid dynamics of comets before, this image is the most stunning example I’ve seen. It’s no wonder that it won the top prize at the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. (Image credit: G. Rhemann; via Colossal; see also APOTY)

  • Dripping Glaze on Ceramics

    Dripping Glaze on Ceramics

    Candy-colored glaze oozes down the sides of Brian Giniewski’s Drippy Pots. These mugs seem like a great way to the start the day with a little happy, fluidsy action! (Image credit: B. Giniewski; via Colossal)

  • Flowers Through a Hazy Veil

    Flowers Through a Hazy Veil

    A smoke-like haze obscures colorful bouquets in these photographs from artist Robert Peek. To achieve the effect, Peek submerges his subjects underwater with white dye that sinks due to its greater density. The wakes traced by the dye are impressively laminar, so the dye must drift rather slowly past each petal. The overall effect is beautifully dream-like. You can find more of Peek’s work on Behance and Instagram. (Image credit: R. Peek; via Colossal)

  • Bird Photographer of the Year 2022

    Bird Photographer of the Year 2022

    Try as we might, humans cannot understand fluid dynamics as birds do. Whether they are primarily flyers or swimmers, birds have an innate understanding of lift and other aerodynamic forces that put the best engineers to shame. Shown here are a subset of winners from the 2022 Bird Photographer of the Year competition, each of them showing off fluid dynamics in some fashion. Hummingbirds hover, droplets shine like diamonds, and divers brace for impact. You can peruse more winner at BPOTY’s website. (Image credits: Various; see alt text of individual images)

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    “Haut”

    In Susi Sie’s “Haut” the camera seems to fly over ever-shifting landscapes. In reality, these are macro images, created (I think) by dyes and patterns atop a water bath. But they look like vistas we could find on Earth or Mars — giant dune fields, calving glaciers, and river-divided canyons. For something similar in color, check out Roman De Giuli’s “Geodaehan.” (Video credit: S. Sie)

  • Jupiter in Infrared

    Jupiter in Infrared

    These recent composite images from the James Webb Space Telescope show Jupiter in stunning infrared detail. They’re the result of several images taken in different infrared bands, then combined and rendered in visible light. In general, the redder colors show longer wavelengths and the bluer ones show shorter wavelengths.

    Jupiter’s cloud bands appear in beautiful detail. The Great Red Spot looks white in infrared. And the planet’s polar auroras shine bright in both images. The wide-angle shot additionally shows two of Jupiter’s moons and the planet’s rings, which are a million times fainter than the planet itself. If you look carefully, you may also see faint points of light in the lower half of the image. These are likely distant galaxies “photobombing” Jupiter’s close-up. (Image credit: NASA/ESA/Jupiter ERS Team 1, 2; via Colossal)

    This composite image of Jupiter was taken in infrared bands and rendered into visible light. In general, the redder colors represent longer wavelengths and bluer ones shorter wavelengths.
    This composite image of Jupiter was taken in infrared bands and rendered into visible light. In general, the redder colors represent longer wavelengths and bluer ones shorter wavelengths.
  • Featured Video Play Icon

    “Titan”

    Saturn’s moon Titan is a fascinating foil to our planet. It’s the only other body in our solar system with liquid bodies — lakes and seas — on its surface. But where Earth’s oceans are filled with water, Titan’s frigid lakes are liquid hydrocarbons. This video, “Titan,” is a short film inspired by the moon’s seas and is made up of various liquids and chemical reactions filmed under magnification. Sit back and enjoy the flow! (Image and video credit: S. Bocci/Julia Set Lab)

  • Under the Sea

    Under the Sea

    Deep below the ocean surface, light is in short supply. But dive photographer Steven Kovacs specializes in capturing the ethereal creatures that live in this darkness. Many of his subjects are larval fish, whose forms defy our hydrodynamic expectations. Why would young (presumably less energetic) fish have so many long, drag-inducing appendages? Clearly there’s more to life under the sea than streamlining alone!

    Perhaps our instincts are wrong and these shapes are not as detrimental as they look at first glance. Flexibility can make a drastic difference in hydrodynamics, after all. And some of these species are preparing themselves for a life not spent entirely underwater, anyway. (Image credit: S. Kovacs; via Colossal)

  • Saffman-Taylor Instability

    Saffman-Taylor Instability

    Air and blue-dyed glycerin squeezed between two glass plates form curvy, finger-like protrusions. This is a close-up of the Saffman-Taylor instability, a pattern created when a less viscous fluid — here, air — is injected into a more viscous one. If you reverse the situation and inject glycerin into air, you’ll get no viscous fingers, just a stable, expanding circle. Although you sometimes come across this instability in daily life — like in a cracked smartphone screen — the major motivation for studying this phenomenon historically has been oil and gas extraction. (Image credit: T. Pohlman et al.)