This photo shows the Saffman-Taylor instability in a Hele-Shaw cell. Here a viscous fluid has been placed between two glass plates and a second less viscous fluid inserted, resulting in a finger-like instability as the less viscous fluid displaces the more viscous one. This is an effect that can be easily explored at home using common liquids like glycerin, water, dish soap, or laundry detergent. #
Tag: fluids as art
Soap Bubble Shapes
The shapes of soap bubbles are determined by surface tension, which ensures the smallest surface area for a given contained volume. (#) Their iridescent colors are created by the interference and refraction of light waves passing through the nonuniform thickness of the bubble, as well as to the motion of the soap mixture itself.
Photo credit: found via fuckyeaheyegasms, originally from teacupofmoons
The ABCs of Physics
b=buoyancy is part of Ashley JM’s photo set The ABCs of Physics. In her words:
Buoyancy is what causes less dense objects to float in a more dense fluid, such as a helium balloon in air. There is a buoyant force that pushes up on the object, equal to the weight of the displaced fluid.
That little diagram up there is called a force diagram, they can be even more daunting than equations at times. This one shows that the buoyant force up on the balloon is equal to the force of tension in the string, this keeps the balloon in equilibrium.
Be sure to look at the rest of her physics photos! # (via physicsphysics)
Tears of Wine
Tears of wine are caused by the Marangoni effect, in which a gradient in surface tension causes mass flow. The water in the wine has a higher surface tension than the alcohol in the wine, causing the wine to be drawn away from regions of higher alcohol concentration. #
Morpho Towers
Artists Sachiko Kodama and Yasushi Miyajima use ferrofluids and magnetic fields to create their “Morpho Towers – Two Standing Spirals” artwork. Ferrofluids are formed from a suspension of ferrous material in a oil or water and are a popular subject for fluid dynamics as art. You can even make your own ferrofluid at home. (via ageekmom)
Water Balloon Photography
Photographer Edward Horsford uses high-speed photography to capture water balloons as they burst. On Earth, of course, gravity wins over surface tension, but the results are very different in microgravity. See the technical description for how Horsford gets his shots and look at more of his work on Flickr. (via NPR)
Canon Sound Sculptures
In a new series of ads for Canon, colorful paints are placed on a speaker cone and filmed at high speed to create beautiful “sound sculptures”. Paint, like oobleck, is a non-Newtonian fluid but does not react the same when excited by sound because it is shear-thinning. (When painting, you want the paint to run off the brush easily but not drip when it’s on the wall; hence, shear-thinning.) Both the photos and videos are lovely examples of fluid mechanics as art. Watch how they did it. # (Via jshoer, @ftematt, @JetForMe)
Wingtip Vortices in Ground Effect
In this flow visualization, wingtip vortices from an aircraft have been simulated using an apparatus with a couple of flaps that snap together like a book closing. Dye is pooled on the “ground” below the flaps and gets entrained by the vortices and lit up using laser light. The red vortices are the primary vortex generated by the aircraft wingtips and the green ones are secondary vortices generated by interaction with the ground. The lower half of the picture is a reflection off the ground. This photo was part of the 2009 Gallery of Fluid Motion. #
Bubble Art
Bubbles are all about surface tension and minimizing energy. Arrange things just right and you can even make square ones. (via JetForMe)
Tempus II
While not strictly fluid mechanical Philip Heron’s Tempus II features some great slow-motion action of fluids. (Submitted by @ftematt)
