In 5th grade, I grew crystals by evaporating solutions of salt water from miniature pie tins. The results were white, boxy crystals whose size depended on how much salt I’d Keep reading
Tag: superhydrophobic
Leaping Hoops
Some water-walking insects are able to leap off a watery interface. One way to model these creatures is with elastic hoops, which can also propel themselves off the water’s surface. Keep reading
Unsinkable Hydrophobic Metal
Although we typically describe hydrophobic surfaces as “water-repelling,” we could just as easily focus on the fact that they’re “air-attracting.” This video from The Action Lab demonstrates that property nicely Keep reading
Bouncing Off Defects
The splash of a drop impacting a surface depends on many factors — among them droplet speed and size, air pressure, and surface characteristics. In this award-winning video from the Keep reading
CU Flow Vis 2019
I love when science and art come together, which is why I’ve long been a fan of the Flow Vis course at CU Boulder. Some of my earliest posts on FYFD date from previous editions of Keep reading
Making Drops Stick
As you may have noticed when washing vegetables, many plants have superhydrophobic leaves. Water just beads up on their surface and slides right off. This is a useful feature for plants that Keep reading
Avoiding Droplet Contact
Cold rain splashing on airplane wings can freeze in instants. To prevent that, researchers look for ways to minimize the time and area of contact a drop has. Hydrophobic coatings and textures can Keep reading
Fizzy Droplets
Leidenfrost drops surf on a layer of their own vapor, created by the high temperature of a nearby surface relative to their boiling point. These Leidenfrost drops can self-propel and Keep reading
Jumping Droplets
From butterfly wings to lotus leaves, many surfaces in nature are shaped to repel water. This typically means roughness on the scale of tens of nanometers, which helps trap air Keep reading
Moving Droplets
Microfluidic devices – such as those used by individuals with diabetes to monitor their blood glucose levels – are all about transport. Typically, these devices use some kind of externally Keep reading