Artist Shinichi Maruyama uses photography to freeze the transient motion of fluids into water sculptures. Inertia, gravity, and surface tension are at war in each piece. Plateau-Rayleigh instabilities break long filaments of liquid into droplets that splash, collide, and reform. To see how he makes this art, check out his videos. (Photo credits: Shinichi Maruyama)
When a drop impacts a pool at very low velocity, a thin layer of air can be trapped between the drop and the pool. When this air film ruptures, a ring of microbubbles forms and expands. Multiple “bubble necklaces” can form if the film ruptures at several points. These rings travel outward until the film is completely destroyed, leaving a chandelier-like shape of microbubbles. See the phenomenon in action with one of the videos linked here. (Photo credit: S. T. Thoroddson et al.; see video at arXiv)
Jupiter is home to one of the most famous storms in the solar system, the Great Red Spot, which Earth observations place at a minimum of 180 (Earth) years in duration. Some evidence suggests that it may have been observed by humans as early as 1665. The magnitude of such a storm is almost unimaginable. At its narrowest point, the storm is still as wide as our entire planet and observations from the Voyager crafts indicate that the storm has 250 mph winds. The scale of mixing and turbulence around the storm, seen in photographs, is stunning and beautiful. (Photo credits: NASA/Voyager 1 and Michael Benson; submitted by oneheadtoanother)
Artist Charles Sowers creates exhibits and public art focused on illuminating natural phenomenon that might otherwise go unnoticed, and much of his work features fluid dynamics directly or indirectly. “Windswept” and “Wave Wall” are both outdoor exhibits that show undulations and vortices corresponding to local wind flow. Other pieces explore ferrofluids through magnetic mazes or feature foggy turbulence. My own favorite, “Drip Chamber”, oozes with viscous fluids whose dripping forms patterns reminiscent of convection cells. Be sure to check out his website for videos of the exhibits in action. (Photo credits: Charles Sowers; submitted by rreis)
Artist D. A. Siqueiros sometimes used a technique he referred to as “accidental painting” in his work, in which he would pour a layer of one color of paint and then pour a second color over it. The two colors would mix in striking patterns. Here researchers recreate the technique and analyze the fluid dynamics of it. Each paint has a slightly different density thanks to the pigments used to color them. When a denser paint is poured over a less dense one (as in the white on black in the video), this activates the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The white paint will tend to sink down below the black paint due to gravity. At the same time, the spreading of the two paints also affects the shapes and patterns through mixing and diffusion. (Video credit: S. Zetina and R. Zenit)
In “Millefiori” artist Fabian Oefner mixes watercolors with ferrofluids to create bright fluid microcosms. Each photograph represents an area about the size of a thumbnail. Ferrofluids contain iron-based nanoparticles suspended in a carrier fluid and thus respond to magnetic fields. They can form sharp points, labyrinthine mazes, or even brain-like patterns depending on the magnetic field and the substances surrounding them. For more on this art project, see this interview with the artist. (Photo credit: Fabian Oefner)
From a series called “Surface Tension,” these ink and water drawings by Marguerite French explore the effects of diffusion, surface tension, and evaporation. The forms left by the thin layer of liquids suggest other natural processes like erosion, weathering, and the rings inside trees. (Photo credits: Marguerite French)
In “Ferienne” artist Afiq Omar utilizes ferrofluids, magnetism, and vibration to create analog visual effects. Most of the dot and labyrinthine patterns result from the reaction of a ferrofluid submerged in a nonmagnetic fluid to an external magnetic field. Diffusion effects and surface tension instabilities are also visible in the way the darker ferrofluid breaks down in the carrier fluid. Also be sure to check out Omar’s previously featured fluid film “Ferroux”. (Video credit: Afiq Omar)
Computational fluid dynamics and supercomputers can produce some stunning flow visualizations. Above are examples of turbulence, the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Be sure to check out LCSE’s website for more; they’ve included wallpapers of some of the most spectacular ones. (Photo credits: Laboratory for Computational Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, #)
A drop of ferrofluid is shaped by seven small circular magnets sitting beneath the glass and paper. Ferrofluids are made up of nanoscale ferromagnetic particles suspended in a carrier liquid. Under the influence of magnetic fields, they can take on fantastic shapes, including sharp-tipped droplets and labyrinthine mazes. This image is taken from the National Academy of Science’s book Convergence, focused on the intersection between science and art. (Photo credit: Felice Frankel)