A bubble initiated near a free surface–like the air-water interface here–can generate some spectacular dynamics. Beginning at the far left, the expanding subsurface bubble causes a dome at the surface that sharpens into a spike. By Frame 3, the bubble is collapsing but overshoots and rebounds, which introduces the tiny instability in Frame 4 that grows in subsequent time steps to form the water skirt that surrounds the spike. Although generated entirely differently, the end result is reminiscent of the water sculptures made by artists like Marcus Reugels, Corrie White, Jack Long, and others. (Image credit: A. M. Zhang et al.)
Tag: fluids as art
Fluids Round-up – 5 October 2013
This is the last week that my IndieGoGo project is open for donations. All money above and beyond what is needed for the conference will go toward FYFD-produced videos. Also, donors can get some awesome FYFD stickers.
As a reminder, those looking for more fluids–in video, textbook, or other form–can always check out my resources page. And if you know about great links that aren’t on there, let me know so that I can add them. On to the round-up!
- Popular Science has look at what it was like to fly on the Concorde, the only supersonic commercial airliner ever flown.
- For the cyclists and CFD folks out there, Zipp has put out a new video discussing their Firecrest wheels’ aerodynamics.
- io9 explains how superhydrophobic surfaces impart a charge to water droplets and how this can be used to increase efficiency at power plants.
- BuzzFeed UK has 32 fun science GIFs, several of which are fluids-related, and several of which will look familiar to long-time readers. (via Flow Visualization on FB)
- Wired has an intriguing short on Acoustic Archives, a group that focuses on capturing the acoustic qualities of historic locations using custom-designed 3D microphones.
- Congratulations to Richard over at Flow Viz for hitting his 100th post! Here’s to many more.
- Finally, our lead image comes from Martin Klimas. Smithsonian’s blog has a feature on his work in which he transforms songs from artists like Pink Floyd, Daft Punk, and Bach into sonic sculptures using paint on speakers. (via Flow Visualization on FB)
I had a lot of fun earlier this week giving a talk for the Texas A&M Applied Mathematics Undergraduate Seminar series. I didn’t get a chance to record it, but the slides are up here if anyone is interested.(Photo credit: M. Klimas)
“Supermajor”
In Matt Kenyon’s “Supermajor,” oil appears to flow upward against gravity from a puddle into a can. This optical illusion is a stroboscopic effect similar to the one that makes car wheels seem to rotate backwards. The human eye and brain can be tricked into seeing the stream of oil as being suspended or even moving backwards by changing the flicker of the lighting relative to the rate at which the drops fall. If you watch the videos carefully, the pedestal is vibrating, which imparts a specific frequency to the falling drops. Combine this with a light that flickers at a slightly different frequency than that of the vibration and you can make the stream of drops appear to move up or down. It’s a helpful way to trick the brain into freezing fluid motion we would normally be unable to appreciate without high-speed cameras. (Video credit: Science Gallery; exhibit credit: Matt Kenyon; submitted by jshoer)
Fluids Round-up – 7 September 2013
Lots of great links in this week’s fluids round-up!
- Scientific American discusses how dogs use adhesion of water to their tongues to drink. We’ve mentioned this previously, as well as how it’s the same method cats use.
- Wired has a great look inside the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range and how it’s used for impact cratering studies.
- Artist Fabian Oefner, whose work we’ve featured previous (1, 2, 3), gave a TEDx talk on mixing art and science, using acoustics and ferrofluids.
- Veritasium’s video on vibrating oobleck on a speaker has some nice visuals, and his suggestion of the behavior of highway traffic as a non-Newtonian fluid is intriguing. I generally consider such traffic to be a prime example of compressible flow, but that’s a whole post in and of itself.
- GE’s 6secondscience fair challenges participants to fit their science into 6 seconds of video. There are some great fluids examples, as seen in this compilation video. (submitted by jshoer) For a breakdown of each scientific concept, check out It’s Okay to be Smart’s list.
- I don’t know about you, but this bus window would keep me entertained for my whole commute. It’s like a 2D lesson in Newton’s laws and sloshing. (submitted by Erik M)
- There are some epic and beautiful examples of fluid dynamics in this collection of Red Bull Illume photo contest winners. (via +Jennifer Ouellette)
- Finally, this week’s lead image is a collage of gorgeous microfluidic multi-fluid emulsions. Learn more about them over at Physics in Drops.
(Photo credit: L. L. A. Adams)
Ink Diffusion
Alberto Seveso’s gorgeous high-speed photos of ink diffusing in water have a dramatic sense of texture to them. Though still delicate, the whorls of fluid seem almost solid enough to touch. Watch the edges, though, and you can see thin wisps of color and hints of instabilities. Like cream poured into coffee, these ink sculptures are short-lived. Some of his works are available as prints or wallpapers (zip file). (Photo credit: Alberto Seveso)
“Pacific Light”
This lovely video from Ruslan Khasanov showcases the beautiful interplay of surface tension, diffusion, and immiscibility in common fluids. With soy sauce, oil, ink, soap, and a little gasoline, he creates a mesmerizing world of color and motion. It’s a great reminder of the wonders that populate our daily lives, if we just look closely enough to see them. (Video credit: R. Khasanov; via Wired; submitted by Trevor)
Bouncing in Lockstep
Droplets of silicone oil bounce on a pool of the same thanks to the vibration provided by a loudspeaker. Each droplet’s bounce causes ripples in the pool and the interference between these ripples fixes the droplets in lockstep with one another. As long as the vibration continues to feed the thin layer of air that separates the droplets from the pool during each bounce and no impurities break the surface tension at the interface, the droplets will bounce indefinitely on their liquid trampoline. Such systems can be used to observe quantum-mechanical behavior like wave-particle duality on a macro-scale. (Photo credit: A. Labuda and J. Belina)
“Perpetual Puddle Vortex Experiment”
Anthony Hall’s “Perpetual Puddle Vortex Experiment” is an intriguing display of several physical mechanisms. What looks like a puddle is actually a vortex constantly sucking fluid down a hole in the table. The liquid is re-circulated into the puddle so it never disappears. The table itself is treated to be hydrophobic, causing the distinctive curvature and large contact angle of the puddle’s rim. The oils mixed in float on top, creating patterns of foam that visualize the swirling motions of the fluid as the vortex pulls it in. (Video credit and submission by: A. Hall)
“Liquid Jewel”
Just a reminder that today is your last chance to participate in our reader survey. If you haven’t had a chance yet to fill it out, please do. The data are very important to us, not just for this site, but for improving science outreach online in general. Thank to those who have filled out the survey and especially those who left suggestions. You guys have some great ideas!
Today’s image is from artist Fabian Oefner’s “Liquid Jewel” series, featuring paint-filled balloons moments after rupture. Oefner has several series displaying physical forces as visual media, including the previously featured “Black Hole” and “Millefiori” photos. (Photo credit: F. Oefner)
Bursting Bubble
Originally posted: 24 Aug 2011 That soap bubbles burst in the blink of an eye is a pity considering how fascinating their disappearing act is. This photo set from photographer Richard Heeks captures the bubbles mid-burst. Once the bubble’s film is breached, surface tension rips the smooth film back like a broken balloon, causing the liquid that used to be part of the bubble to erupt into droplets. (Photo credit: Richard Heeks)
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