A drop of oil impacts and falls through a pool of isopropyl alcohol. Momentum, viscosity, and diffusion combine to deform the drop into a shape that is initially like an Keep reading
Tag: gallery of fluid motion
Propagating Flames
Like many flows, flames can be unstable and undergo a transition from orderly laminar flow to chaotic turbulent flow. The timelapse image above shows the propagation of a flame front Keep reading
Behind the Science
FYFD features lots of science, but this new video gives you a chance to see the scientists, too! It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Keep reading
Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines
Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) are an alternative to traditional wind turbine designs. Unlike their more common cousins, VAWTs rotate about a vertical axis and are omni-directional, meaning that they do Keep reading
Cavitation
[original media no longer available] Cavitation–the formation and collapse of vapor-filled cavities within a liquid–occurs in a variety of natural and manmade applications. It can shatter bottles, wreak havoc with Keep reading
Crown Sealing
Objects falling into a liquid pool create a beautiful splash, and, in this beautiful, award-winning video, the Splash Lab explores a peculiar instability that occurs just as the splash closes. Keep reading
Sound Interactions
Sound waves often interact with many objects before we hear them. Understanding and controlling those interactions is a major part of acoustic engineering. The animations above show shock waves–sound–from a Keep reading
The Hidden Complexities of the Simple Match
Striking a match and blowing it out seems rather simple to the naked eye. But with high-speed video and schlieren photography, the act takes on new complexity. Schlieren photography is an Keep reading
Levitating Droplets with Motion
There are many ways to levitate a droplet – heating, vibration, and acoustic levitation all come to mind – but this video demonstrates a simpler method: a moving wall. Depositing Keep reading
Shooting Droplets with Lasers
Last week we saw what happens when a solid projectile hits a water droplet; today’s video shows the impact of a laser pulse on a droplet. Several things happen here, Keep reading