jtotheizzoe:

Plink.

There are few things more beautiful in their simplicity than the rebounding columns of water that result from droplets hitting a larger body of liquid. It’s something we’ve all seen, time and time again, from raindrops to leaky sinks. With the advent of modern technology, we are able to see beyond normal time, and capture these transient moments on a scale of time and space without which we could not appreciate their brilliance.

How this beauty works: That particular shape, the droplets that rise up when another droplet strikes the pool, is called a “backjet”. The force of a falling droplet divides the liquid it falls into, creating a void and exerting pressure on the liquid around it. The molecules of water rush back together at high velocity, driven by surface tension and reacting to the pressure exerted by the displaced liquid. When that tiny hole snaps back together, the force drives excess water upward, creating the beautiful “backjet” you see here.

Along the edge of the flat, mushroom-like cap, tiny sub-droplets are breaking off in an almost fractal manner, each driven to division by an outward force that pinches them off and overpowers the surface tension.

See more of Markus Reugels’ stunning droplet photography at Colossal. 

8bitfuture:

Self-filling water bottle draws water from the air.

The water bottle draws inspiration from the Namib Desert beetle, which is able to draw in 12 percent of its weight in water from the air using hydrophilic areas on its back which cause water to condense.

“We use nanotechnology to mimic this beetle’s back so that we too can pull water from the air,” Sorenson told PRI. “We see this being applicable to anything from marathon runners to people in third-world countries, because we realize that water is such a large issue in the world today, and we want to try to alleviate those problems with a cost-efficient solution. We are looking to incorporate this in greenhouses or green roofs in the immediate future, and then later on, we’re looking to see how far we can really scale this up to supply maybe farms or larger agricultural goals.”

Arguably the most remarkable part might be that fact that Sorenson insists the technology does not require much energy; he said the company’s showed how solar cells and a rechargeable battery can be enough. This means the device could potentially be attached to vehicles, buildings, or even a running human, and still be able to grab all the power it needs supply to move the air over the specially-coated surface.

(Source: thenextweb.com, via darwinsminion)

jtotheizzoe:

The world can be a very different place, and what’s impossible to one may be possible to another, depending on how you look at it.

Some lessons on surface tension and how to defy them.

Click through to Hyperphysics, an amazing educational website by Georgia State University. It’s the most straight forward and accessible physics reference I’ve ever seen.

npr:

Today, NASA scientists presented findings that prove water once ran across the surface of Mars. Though the rocks have yet to be analyzed, scientists say the photographs clearly indicate that these rock formations were smoothed and shaped by water. The next step, says NASA, will be drilling into the rock for evidence of carbon deposits. — rachel

Photo: NASA

(via we-are-star-stuff)

biologylair:

A collection of scanning electron micrographs of untreated water from a wild stream, revealing a myriad of bacteria, protozoa, and algae. 

Many of the organisms in untreated waters are harmless, but the presence of those that are pathogenic, such as Giardia and virulent strains of E. coli make drinking water from natural streams typically unsafe to both humans and other animals. Furthermore, in our modern age, it isn’t uncommon to find toxic chemicals and debris present among the natural infusoria of freshwater streams.

Courtesy: CDC Public Health Image Library

(via we-are-star-stuff)

theworldisconfused:

ivanyouaintgotnopancakemix:

Ban dihydrogen monoxide NOW.

OH GOD! DHMO IS THE WORST THING ON THE PLANET!

My grandfather was very fond of 3 drinks: bourbon, beer and iced tea. When we’d ask him, “Grandpa, why don’t you ever drink water?” he would reply, “that stuff can kill you!”. I think he got the bit from the drunk vaudeville era comedian W.C. Fields (the inspiration behind Looney Toons’ Foghorn Leghorn), he would joke that water wasn’t for human consumption because it can “rust holes in pipes” plus “fish fuck in it”.

(via darwinsminion)

(Source: we-are-star-stuff)

ikenbot:

Flows in Hellas Planitia, Mars

Hellas Planitia is the interior of the Hellas impact basin, is one of the largest visible impact craters in the Solar System. Hellas is located in the Southern highlands and formed very early in the planet’s history. The floor of Hellas includes the lowest elevations on Mars and some of the strangest landscapes.

thenewenlightenmentage:

All the Water on Europa

How much of Jupiter’s moon Europa is made of water? A lot, actually. Based on the Galileo probe data acquired during its exploration of the Jovian system from 1995 to 2003, Europa posses a deep, global ocean of liquid water beneath a layer of surface ice. The subsurface ocean plus ice layer could range from 80 to 170 kilometers in average depth. Adopting an estimate of 100 kilometers depth, if all the water on Europa were gathered into a ball it would have a radius of 877 kilometers. To scale, this intriguing illustration compares that hypothetical ball of all the water on Europa to the size of Europa itself (left) - and similarly to all the water on planet Earth. With a volume 2-3 times the volume of water in Earth’s oceans, the global ocean on Europa holds out a tantalizing destination in the search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system.

freshphotons:

“Wrinkles in a thin film radiating from a drop of water: The thickness and elasticity of the film can be determined from the number and length of the wrinkles.”