Drip some ethanol on a hot surface, and you’d expect it to spread into a thin layer and evaporate. But that doesn’t always happen, and a recent study looks at Keep reading
Tag: volatility
Pearls On a Puddle
Leave a drop of coffee sitting on a surface and it will leave behind a ring of particulates once the water evaporates. But what happens to a droplet made up Keep reading
Keeping Bubbles Around
Bubbles don’t stick around in pure water. Surfactants are needed to stabilize the thin liquid film for longer than the blink of an eye. But that’s not necessarily the case Keep reading
Convection
Blue paint in alcohol forms an array of polygonal convection cells. We’re accustomed to associating convection with temperature differences; patterns like the one above are seen in hot cooking oil, Keep reading
The Evaporation of Ouzo
Ouzo is an aperitif made up of ethanol (alcohol), water, and anise oil. This three-part, or ternary, mixture undergoes an intriguing evaporation process thanks to the characteristics of its components. Keep reading
Whiskey Stains
Photographer Ernie Button discovered that whiskey left behind intriguing patterns after it evaporated. Unlike coffee rings, the whiskey leaves behind a more uniform residue. Curious, he contacted researchers at Princeton, Keep reading
Oil Film on Water
This award-winning short film features a thin layer of volatile oil on water. The oil evaporates quickest from shallow pools only microns deep, which appear bluish in the video. Surface Keep reading
Zesty Fireballs
Zesting the skin of a citrus fruit like oranges releases a spray of tiny oil droplets. Citrus oil has several volatile components, meaning that it evaporates quickly at room temperature. Keep reading
Fire-Breathing Physics
One of the most dangerous stunts for any fire-eater is breathing fire. Dr. Tim Cockerill explains some of the science behind the feat in this video. Volatility–the tendency of the Keep reading