Inject a less viscous fluid into a gap filled with a more viscous fluid, and you’ll get finger-like patterns spreading radially. Here, researchers put a twist on this viscous fingering Keep reading
Tag: viscous fingering
Evolving Fingers
If you sandwich a viscous fluid between two plates and inject a less viscous fluid, you’ll get viscous fingers that spread and split as they grow. This research poster depicts Keep reading
Dendritic Painting Physics
In the art of Akiko Nakayama, colors branch and split in a tree-like pattern. In studying the process, researchers found the physics intersected art, soft matter mechanics, and statistical physics. Keep reading
Controlling Finger Formation
When gas is injected into thin, liquid-filled gaps, the liquid-gas interface can destabilize, forming distinctive finger-like shapes. In laboratories, this mechanism is typically investigated in the gap between two transparent Keep reading
The Best of FYFD 2022
In keeping with our annual tradition, here’s a look back at the most popular posts of 2022: Lots of beverage-inspired posts this time around! It’s a good reminder that there’s Keep reading
Inside Viscous Fingers
Sandwich a viscous fluid between two transparent plates and then inject a second, less viscous fluid. This is the classic set-up for the Saffman-Taylor instability, a well-studied flow in which Keep reading
Fast Fractal Fingers
With the right balance of viscosity and surface tension, many fluid combinations can form fractal or dendritic patterns. Here, researchers use a drop of food coloring atop a mixture of Keep reading
Eruption in a Box
In layers of viscous fluids, lighter and less viscous fluids can displace heavier, more viscous liquids. Here, researchers demonstrate this using four fluids sandwiched between layers of glass and mounted Keep reading
Acrylic Paint Fractals
Here’s a simple fluids experiment you can try at home using acrylic paints, ink, isopropyl alcohol and a few other ingredients. When dropped onto diluted acrylic paint, a mixture of Keep reading
Solid, Liquid, Both?
Materials like oobleck — a suspension of cornstarch particles in water — are tough to classify. In some circumstances, they behave like a fluid, but in others, they act like Keep reading