A droplet on a surface much hotter than its boiling point will skate on a layer of its own vapor, thanks to the Leidenfrost effect. But if that surface is, Keep reading
Tag: vaporization
Molten Thermite
This glowing, molten liquid captured by the Slow Mo Guys is thermite. The chemical reaction behind thermite is highly exothermic, hence its intense glow. There’s some great fluid dynamics hiding Keep reading
The Explosive Vaporization Derby
When pressurized, liquids can be superheated to temperatures well above their normal boiling point. When the pressure is released, the liquid will start boiling, sometimes explosively. In this video, researchers Keep reading
Drops That Dig
On extremely hot surfaces, droplets will skitter on a layer of their own vapor, thanks to the Leidenfrost effect. This keeps the liquid insulated from contact with the hot surface. But Keep reading
Streaming Fire
I’m just going to start this one with a blanket statement: DO NOT TRY THIS. Instead, enjoy the fact that the Internet enables us to enjoy the sight of burning gasoline in Keep reading
Superheating
Being hot isn’t always enough to make water boil. To form vapor bubbles, water and other liquids need imperfections that serve as seeds. In the absence of these, the liquid Keep reading
The Leidenfrost Crack
In 1756, Leidenfrost reported on the peculiar behaviors of droplets on surface much hotter than the liquid’s boiling point. Such droplets were highly mobile, surfing on a thin layer of 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
Landslide Lubrication
In 2008, an 8.2 magnitude earthquake in China caused the enormous Daguangbao landslide, which loosed over one cubic kilometer of rocks and debris. That material rushed down the mountainside, running more Keep reading
Lava Bomb
What you see above is a homemade lava bomb. To systematically study what happens when groundwater meets lava, scientists melted basalt and created their own meter-scale explosion-on-demand. Inside the container, Keep reading