FYFD

Tag: science

  • Microgravity Combustion

    Microgravity Combustion

    This collage of three combustion images reveals the beautiful symmetry of flames in microgravity. In the absence of gravity, flames are spherical, and, in the confines of a spacecraft, any combustion is extremely dangerous. Thus, most microgravity combustion experiments occur in drop towers. From NASA:

    Each image is of flame spread over cellulose paper in a spacecraft ventilation flow in microgravity. The different colors represent different chemical reactions within the flame. The blue areas are caused by chemiluminescence (light produced by a chemical reaction.) The white, yellow and orange regions are due to glowing soot within the flame zone. #

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    Surface Tension Demo

    This simple demonstration shows the power of surface tension, especially at small lengthscales. Another way to break the surface tension holding the water in the sieve would be to spray the top of the jar with soapy water. The soap acts as surfactant, decreasing the surface tension such that the water is unable to counteract the force of gravity.

  • Impinging Without Coalescing

    Impinging Without Coalescing

    Three impinging jets of silicone oil rebound without coalescence due to thin-film lubrication between the jets. The motion of the oil replenishes the thin layer of air separating the streams. The same phenomenon keeps droplets from coalescing as well. (Photo credit: BIF Lab, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Virginia Tech) #

  • Blast Waves

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    Watch closely in this high-speed video of a bomb exploding and you will see the spherical blast wave moving outward as a visual distortion. The increase in temperature caused by the leading shockwave changes the index of refraction of the air, bending the light and distorting our view of the background. The mechanism is similar to schlieren photography, which has been used for more than a century to capture images of compressible flows.

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    Laminar and Turbulent Flows from a Faucet

    Here laminar and turbulent flows, basic concepts in fluid mechanics, are demonstrated in the kitchen sink! While laminar flow is often desirable for decreasing drag due to friction, most practical flows are turbulent. The hissing the video author associates with the onset of turbulence is not a coincidence either. The chaotic motion of turbulent flows can produce aerodynamic noise like the roar produced by airplane propellers or the hum of electrical lines in the wind.

  • Water Spray from a Tire

    Water Spray from a Tire

    The spray thrown up by a rolling tire is simulated in the lab by running a single-grooved tire (top) against a smooth tire (bottom) that simulates the road. A supply of water flows from the left at the speed of the rolling tires (6 m/s). The resultant sheet of water is a familiar site to motorists everywhere. Holes in the the sheet of water collide to form the smallest droplets, whose diameters are comparable to the thickness of the sheet, of the order of 100 microns. Thicker parts of the sheet form ligaments and break down into large droplets through the Plateau-Rayleigh instability. (Photo credit: Dennis Plocher, Fred Browand and Charles Radovich) #

  • Bill Nye Demos

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    Have a little science enthusiasm from Bill Nye to brighten your Tuesday! This video includes demonstrations on thermodynamics (sucking the balloon into the flask), the Marangoni effect (driving the powder off the water surface and powering the glue boat by creating gradients in surface tension), and buoyancy (floating cans of cola).