(© Peter Evans, November 2005)One of the charming things about studying fluids is the wealth of pretty pictures seen in the literature, in seminars, and on conference poster displays. A great gift to the fluid dynamics community was Milton van Dyke's book "An Album of Fluid Motion" (Parabolic Press; 1982).
In the spirit of that work, here are links to some things that have caught my eye. I haven't chosen topics representative of all of fluid dynamics, just a few things relatively close to my own research interests and/or personal experiences.
Enjoy!
The "Benutzung und Strukturbildung an Grenzflächen" DFG Priority Program has a pretty picture at the front of their web page. It shows the dewetting of some kind of polymer film.
Here is a rather dramatic example of dewetting on a special (textured?) substrate: a lotus leaf (Nymphea?) in the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden, Mauritius:
(© Peter Evans, November 2005)
A blob of something, on a heterogeneous substrate spreads in an almost-animate manner before breaking up.
(Hakki Eres)
Piotr Habdas and John R. de Bruyn have worked on the printer's instability
A "magnetic fluid", made by dissolving "ferro-magnetic micro-powder in a solvent such as water or oil", and then placed in a magnetic field, produces beautiful spikes. Minako Takeno has taken photographs.
Why does water curve, and what is a meniscus? (answered by Barb at the UIUC Physics Van)
A nice demonstration: a floating paper clip, at the BBC, by Robert Anderson for the 2005 Visions of Science Photographic Awards.
The viscosity of a liquid allows it to be held on objects, like honey on a spoon, or silicone oil on a rotating roller.
(© Peter Evans, 1998)
Pitch can behave as a very viscous liquid: here's an experiment by Parnell et al. with only one drop every eight years. This won the 2005 Ig Nobel Prize for physics.
Extrusion of molasses at a sugar refinery in Mauritius:
(© Peter Evans, November 2005)
A waterspout off the Florida Keys, taken by a NOAA photographer, and Astronomy Picture of the Day for 20 January 2005.
Tony Roberts' The washbasin vortex: is the flow out of a sink rotational or irrotational?
The Physics of Fluids Gallery of Fluid Motion.