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#evaporation — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #evaporation, aggregated by home.social.

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  1. Global Performance of #RemoteSensing Based and Reanalysis-Driven Models to Estimate Open Water Evaporation
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2025WR042363
    --
    “ABSTRACT: Evaporation plays an essential role in the water cycle, influencing local and regional climates while directly impacting water availability in lakes. However, directly measuring evaporation over water bodies remains challenging due to the high costs of installing and maintaining the required in situ instrumentation. Although several remote sensing algorithms have been providing evaporation estimates, the lack of a global validation hinders our understanding of their relative uncertainties and performances across different regions. Here, [they] analyze[d] the performance of a suite of models that leverage satellite data and meteorological reanalysis to estimate evaporation over lakes worldwide. [They] compare[d] three remote sensing-based models, one reanalysis-driven model and one ensemble approach, using in situ observations from 27 lakes representing a diverse range of geographic and climatic regions. [Their] results demonstrate that, overall, the ensemble outperformed any individual model in terms of accuracy, with a RMSE and a bias of 1.3 and 0.3 mm/day, respectively. These findings highlight the benefits of using an ensemble approach to estimate open water evaporation with satellite-based models at the global scale, leveraging the unique strengths of each model. For the individual models, differences in the representation of heat storage changes and advection effects led to lower values of RMSE and bias, depending on the location and depth of the lakes. This study sets the path for future improvement of open water evaporation algorithms globally, while remote sensing techniques are proven satisfactory to monitoring of water loss in lakes globally, an essential step toward effective large-scale water resources management.
    PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Water loss through evaporation in lakes and reservoirs directly affects water availability, which highlights the need to monitor these losses. However, measuring evaporation in situ is challenging and expensive. An alternative is to estimate evaporation using remote-sensing models and compare these estimates with in-situ data to verify their accuracy. Here, [they] evaluated four models and their ensemble (the models' mean value) using measurements from 27 lakes and reservoirs worldwide. [They] found that the ensemble presented higher accuracy and consistency than any individual model because it benefits from the strengths of each model. This approach can guide future improvements in estimating open-water evaporation, which is essential for large-scale water-resource management…”
    #global #mapping #earthobservation #GIS #spatial #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #model #modeling #water #hydrology #surfacewater #waterbody #lake #reservoir #evaporation #evapotranspiration #watercycle #weather #meteorology #usecase #waterresources #watermanagement #waterloss #regional #estimate #policy #planning #instrumentation #comparasion

  2. Global Performance of Based and Reanalysis-Driven Models to Estimate Open Water Evaporation
    --
    doi.org/10.1029/2025WR042363
    --
    “ABSTRACT: Evaporation plays an essential role in the water cycle, influencing local and regional climates while directly impacting water availability in lakes. However, directly measuring evaporation over water bodies remains challenging due to the high costs of installing and maintaining the required in situ instrumentation. Although several remote sensing algorithms have been providing evaporation estimates, the lack of a global validation hinders our understanding of their relative uncertainties and performances across different regions. Here, [they] analyze[d] the performance of a suite of models that leverage satellite data and meteorological reanalysis to estimate evaporation over lakes worldwide. [They] compare[d] three remote sensing-based models, one reanalysis-driven model and one ensemble approach, using in situ observations from 27 lakes representing a diverse range of geographic and climatic regions. [Their] results demonstrate that, overall, the ensemble outperformed any individual model in terms of accuracy, with a RMSE and a bias of 1.3 and 0.3 mm/day, respectively. These findings highlight the benefits of using an ensemble approach to estimate open water evaporation with satellite-based models at the global scale, leveraging the unique strengths of each model. For the individual models, differences in the representation of heat storage changes and advection effects led to lower values of RMSE and bias, depending on the location and depth of the lakes. This study sets the path for future improvement of open water evaporation algorithms globally, while remote sensing techniques are proven satisfactory to monitoring of water loss in lakes globally, an essential step toward effective large-scale water resources management.
    PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Water loss through evaporation in lakes and reservoirs directly affects water availability, which highlights the need to monitor these losses. However, measuring evaporation in situ is challenging and expensive. An alternative is to estimate evaporation using remote-sensing models and compare these estimates with in-situ data to verify their accuracy. Here, [they] evaluated four models and their ensemble (the models' mean value) using measurements from 27 lakes and reservoirs worldwide. [They] found that the ensemble presented higher accuracy and consistency than any individual model because it benefits from the strengths of each model. This approach can guide future improvements in estimating open-water evaporation, which is essential for large-scale water-resource management…”

  3. Mirabilite Mounds at Great Salt Lake

    In cold weather, a new geological feature has shown up at Utah’s Great Salt Lake in the last decade. These salty mirabilite mounds form terraced crystals that resemble Yellowstone’s Mammoth Hot Springs.

    Diagram showing how a salt-laden spring pushing upward through the mirabilite layer can then form mounds at the surface when the dissolved mirabilite recrystallizes after the water evaporates.

    Mirabilite is hydrated sodium sulfate (as opposed to the sodium chloride of table salt). The structures form when upwelling spring water partially dissolves the layer of mirabilite found beneath the lake bed. That sulfate-laden water rises to the surface, where it freezes into the crystals seen here.

    A timelapse showing the formation of mirabilite mounds.

    When temperatures rise above freezing, the water in the mirabilite evaporates, leaving behind white, powdery thenardite. (Video credit: Great Salt Lake Institute; image credit: Utah Geological Survey)

    #crystalGrowth #dissolution #evaporation #fluidDynamics #freezing #geophysics #physics #science
  4. Mirabilite Mounds at Great Salt Lake

    In cold weather, a new geological feature has shown up at Utah’s Great Salt Lake in the last decade. These salty mirabilite mounds form terraced crystals that resemble Yellowstone’s Mammoth Hot Springs.

    Diagram showing how a salt-laden spring pushing upward through the mirabilite layer can then form mounds at the surface when the dissolved mirabilite recrystallizes after the water evaporates.

    Mirabilite is hydrated sodium sulfate (as opposed to the sodium chloride of table salt). The structures form when upwelling spring water partially dissolves the layer of mirabilite found beneath the lake bed. That sulfate-laden water rises to the surface, where it freezes into the crystals seen here.

    A timelapse showing the formation of mirabilite mounds.

    When temperatures rise above freezing, the water in the mirabilite evaporates, leaving behind white, powdery thenardite. (Video credit: Great Salt Lake Institute; image credit: Utah Geological Survey)

    #crystalGrowth #dissolution #evaporation #fluidDynamics #freezing #geophysics #physics #science
  5. Droplets in dense sprays live much longer than expected. The surrounding vapor saturates locally, delaying evaporation.

    What controls the system is not the droplet, but the evolving vapor field.

    🔗 journals.aps.org/prfluids/abst

    #PhaseChange #Evaporation #Turbulence #Droplets #Physics

  6. Droplets in dense sprays live much longer than expected. The surrounding vapor saturates locally, delaying evaporation.

    What controls the system is not the droplet, but the evolving vapor field.

    🔗 journals.aps.org/prfluids/abst

    #PhaseChange #Evaporation #Turbulence #Droplets #Physics

  7. Vanishing Spirits: Cognac

    Years ago, photographer Ernie Button discovered an intriguing stain left behind in his whiskey glass after the last drops evaporated. That discovery led both to beautiful images and an entire scientific paper analyzing how the alcohol, surfactants, and polymers in the whiskey combined to leave such a uniform stain. Over the years, Button continued investigating liquor stains, looking at gin, rice whisky, and aging effects. Here, he’s turned his lens to cognac, producing stains that look like oil slicks, aerial landscapes, and even cartoonish faces! (Image and submission credit: E. Button)

    #alcohol #chemistry #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #marangoniEffect #physics #science
  8. Vanishing Spirits: Cognac

    Years ago, photographer Ernie Button discovered an intriguing stain left behind in his whiskey glass after the last drops evaporated. That discovery led both to beautiful images and an entire scientific paper analyzing how the alcohol, surfactants, and polymers in the whiskey combined to leave such a uniform stain. Over the years, Button continued investigating liquor stains, looking at gin, rice whisky, and aging effects. Here, he’s turned his lens to cognac, producing stains that look like oil slicks, aerial landscapes, and even cartoonish faces! (Image and submission credit: E. Button)

    #alcohol #chemistry #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #marangoniEffect #physics #science
  9. Drying Out Microbe-Filled Droplets

    Ocean sprays, coughs, and sneezes are just a few of the ways that droplets full of bacteria and salt can get aloft on a breeze. How do these bacteria stay viable even as their droplet evaporates? That’s the question behind this video’s research.

    When a bacteria-laden droplet or a salt-laden droplet dries, the evaporating droplet’s contact area shrinks, leaving behind only a concentrated lump of bacteria or salt. But when droplets contain both salt and bacteria, the drying droplet’s contact line gets pinned, leaving a larger area stain. The bacteria’s presence seems to promote crystallization of the salt, which–in turn–traps water in isolated spaces, perhaps helping the bacteria stay viable longer. (Video and image credit: R. Ran et al.)

    Animation of three droplets drying out. When all three components–water, salt, and bacteria–are in a droplet, the drying process looks very different. #2026gosm #aerosols #biology #contactLine #droplets #evaporation #flowVisualization #fluidDynamics #physics #pinning #science #sessileDrop
  10. Drying Out Microbe-Filled Droplets

    Ocean sprays, coughs, and sneezes are just a few of the ways that droplets full of bacteria and salt can get aloft on a breeze. How do these bacteria stay viable even as their droplet evaporates? That’s the question behind this video’s research.

    When a bacteria-laden droplet or a salt-laden droplet dries, the evaporating droplet’s contact area shrinks, leaving behind only a concentrated lump of bacteria or salt. But when droplets contain both salt and bacteria, the drying droplet’s contact line gets pinned, leaving a larger area stain. The bacteria’s presence seems to promote crystallization of the salt, which–in turn–traps water in isolated spaces, perhaps helping the bacteria stay viable longer. (Video and image credit: R. Ran et al.)

    Animation of three droplets drying out. When all three components–water, salt, and bacteria–are in a droplet, the drying process looks very different. #2026gosm #aerosols #biology #contactLine #droplets #evaporation #flowVisualization #fluidDynamics #physics #pinning #science #sessileDrop
  11. How does a droplet dry when space is confined?

    Experiments by B. Sobac and colleagues using interferometry and controlled humidity track the evaporation of binary liquid droplets in a 2D geometry.

    Useful for studying droplet evaporation.

    🔗 journals.aps.org/prfluids/abst

    #FluidDynamics #Droplets #Evaporation #SoftMatter #TransportPhenomena

  12. “Crystal Garden – Seasons”

    In this latest project, the Beauty of Science team explores colorful crystallization as chemicals precipitate out of evaporating solutions. The variety of shapes and colors is incredible. To see many more of these crystalline “gardens,” check out the video below and the project’s webpage. (Video and image credit: W. Zhu/Beauty of Science; via Colossal)

    https://vimeo.com/1155318039?fl=pl&fe=cm

    #crystalGrowth #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #physics #science #timelapse
  13. “Crystal Garden – Seasons”

    In this latest project, the Beauty of Science team explores colorful crystallization as chemicals precipitate out of evaporating solutions. The variety of shapes and colors is incredible. To see many more of these crystalline “gardens,” check out the video below and the project’s webpage. (Video and image credit: W. Zhu/Beauty of Science; via Colossal)

    https://vimeo.com/1155318039?fl=pl&fe=cm

    #crystalGrowth #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #physics #science #timelapse
  14. The Balvenie

    Photographer Ernie Button explores the stains left behind when various liquors evaporate. This one comes from a single malt scotch whisky by The Balvenie. The stain itself is made up of particles left behind when the alcohol and water in the whisky evaporate. The pattern itself depends on a careful interplay between surface tension, evaporation, pinning forces, and internal convection as the whisky puddle dries out. (Image credit: E. Button/CUPOTY; via Colossal)

    #alcohol #deposition #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #physics #science #surfaceTension

  15. The Balvenie

    Photographer Ernie Button explores the stains left behind when various liquors evaporate. This one comes from a single malt scotch whisky by The Balvenie. The stain itself is made up of particles left behind when the alcohol and water in the whisky evaporate. The pattern itself depends on a careful interplay between surface tension, evaporation, pinning forces, and internal convection as the whisky puddle dries out. (Image credit: E. Button/CUPOTY; via Colossal)

    #alcohol #deposition #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #physics #science #surfaceTension

  16. Growing Salty

    Ngangla Ringco sits atop the Tibetan Plateau, breaking up the barren landscape with eye-catching teal and blue. This saline lake sits at an altitude of 4,700 meters, fed by rainfall, Himalayan runoff, and melting glaciers and permafrost. The lake, like many inland bodies of salt water, has no outflow. Instead, water evaporates from the lake, leaving behind any salts that were dissolved in it. Over time, those left-behind salts build up and make the lake ever saltier. (Image credit: NASA; via NASA Earth Observatory)

    #astronaut #dissolution #evaporation #fluidDynamics #physics #salinity #satelliteImage #science

  17. Growing Salty

    Ngangla Ringco sits atop the Tibetan Plateau, breaking up the barren landscape with eye-catching teal and blue. This saline lake sits at an altitude of 4,700 meters, fed by rainfall, Himalayan runoff, and melting glaciers and permafrost. The lake, like many inland bodies of salt water, has no outflow. Instead, water evaporates from the lake, leaving behind any salts that were dissolved in it. Over time, those left-behind salts build up and make the lake ever saltier. (Image credit: NASA; via NASA Earth Observatory)

    #astronaut #dissolution #evaporation #fluidDynamics #physics #salinity #satelliteImage #science

  18. Dissolution and Crystallization

    A colorful assortment of salts dissolve and recrystallize in this microscopic timelapse video by retired engineer Jay McClellan. Every step is a gorgeous rainbow of color as the cobalt, copper, and sodium chlorides dissolve, mix, and change. Though we don’t see what’s going on in the water, fluid dynamics are a critical component of both dissolution and crystallization. In the former, concentration gradients change the water’s density, driving buoyant flows. For the latter, crystallization comes out of evaporation, where surface tension often determines where solid particles get left behind. (Video and image credit: J. McClellan; via Colossal)

    #buoyancy #dissolution #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #physics #science

  19. Dissolution and Crystallization

    A colorful assortment of salts dissolve and recrystallize in this microscopic timelapse video by retired engineer Jay McClellan. Every step is a gorgeous rainbow of color as the cobalt, copper, and sodium chlorides dissolve, mix, and change. Though we don’t see what’s going on in the water, fluid dynamics are a critical component of both dissolution and crystallization. In the former, concentration gradients change the water’s density, driving buoyant flows. For the latter, crystallization comes out of evaporation, where surface tension often determines where solid particles get left behind. (Video and image credit: J. McClellan; via Colossal)

    #buoyancy #dissolution #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #physics #science

  20. → How Much Water Do AI Data Centers Really Consume?
    spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usa

    “Just as human bodies cool themselves by sweating, data centers are often cooled by water #evaporation—a process that dissipates heat and results in water being lost to the atmosphere, and thus being counted as "consumed."”

    “Beyond the water that cools the servers, #data_centers indirectly contribute to water use through the #electricity generation needed to power their operations.”

    #AI #cool #heat #water #power

  21. → How Much Water Do AI Data Centers Really Consume?
    spectrum.ieee.org/ai-water-usa

    “Just as human bodies cool themselves by sweating, data centers are often cooled by water #evaporation—a process that dissipates heat and results in water being lost to the atmosphere, and thus being counted as "consumed."”

    “Beyond the water that cools the servers, #data_centers indirectly contribute to water use through the #electricity generation needed to power their operations.”

    #AI #cool #heat #water #power

  22. Evaporating Off Butterfly Scales

    This award-winning macro video shows scattered water droplets evaporating off a butterfly‘s wing. At first glance, it’s hard to see any motion outside of the camera’s sweep, but if you focus on one drop at a time, you’ll see them shrinking. For most of their lifetime, these tiny drops are nearly spherical; that’s due to the hydrophobic, water-shedding nature of the wing. But as the drops get smaller and less spherical, you may notice how the drop distorts the scales it adheres to. Wherever the drop touches, the wing scales are pulled up, and, when the drop is gone, the scales settle back down. This is a subtle but neat demonstration of the water’s adhesive power. (Video and image credit: J. McClellan; via Nikon Small World in Motion)

    Water droplets evaporate from the wing of a peacock butterfly.

    #adhesion #biology #butterfly #evaporation #fluidDynamics #hydrophobic #physics #science #sessileDrop

  23. Evaporating Off Butterfly Scales

    This award-winning macro video shows scattered water droplets evaporating off a butterfly‘s wing. At first glance, it’s hard to see any motion outside of the camera’s sweep, but if you focus on one drop at a time, you’ll see them shrinking. For most of their lifetime, these tiny drops are nearly spherical; that’s due to the hydrophobic, water-shedding nature of the wing. But as the drops get smaller and less spherical, you may notice how the drop distorts the scales it adheres to. Wherever the drop touches, the wing scales are pulled up, and, when the drop is gone, the scales settle back down. This is a subtle but neat demonstration of the water’s adhesive power. (Video and image credit: J. McClellan; via Nikon Small World in Motion)

    Water droplets evaporate from the wing of a peacock butterfly.

    #adhesion #biology #butterfly #evaporation #fluidDynamics #hydrophobic #physics #science #sessileDrop

  24. “C R Y S T A L S”

    In “C R Y S T A L S,” filmmaker Thomas Blanchard captures the slow, inexorable growth of potassium phosphate crystals. He took over 150,000 images — one per minute — to document the way crystals formed as the originally transparent liquid evaporated. Some crystals branch into fractals. Others bulge outward like a condensing cloud or a sprouting mushroom. (Video and image credit: T. Blanchard)

    #crystalGrowth #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #physics #science #timelapse

  25. “C R Y S T A L S”

    In “C R Y S T A L S,” filmmaker Thomas Blanchard captures the slow, inexorable growth of potassium phosphate crystals. He took over 150,000 images — one per minute — to document the way crystals formed as the originally transparent liquid evaporated. Some crystals branch into fractals. Others bulge outward like a condensing cloud or a sprouting mushroom. (Video and image credit: T. Blanchard)

    #crystalGrowth #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #physics #science #timelapse

  26. “Monsoon 7”

    Storm-chasing photographer Mike Olbinski (previously) returns with another stunning timelapse of summer thunderstorms in the western U.S. I never tire of watching the turbulent convection, microbursts, billowing haboobs, and undulating clouds Olbinski captures. His work is always a reminder of the incredible power and energy contained in our atmosphere and unleashed in cycles of warming and cooling, evaporation and condensation. (Video and image credit: M. Olbinski)

    #cloudFormation #condensation #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #haboob #physics #science #thunderstorm #turbulence

  27. “Monsoon 7”

    Storm-chasing photographer Mike Olbinski (previously) returns with another stunning timelapse of summer thunderstorms in the western U.S. I never tire of watching the turbulent convection, microbursts, billowing haboobs, and undulating clouds Olbinski captures. His work is always a reminder of the incredible power and energy contained in our atmosphere and unleashed in cycles of warming and cooling, evaporation and condensation. (Video and image credit: M. Olbinski)

    #cloudFormation #condensation #evaporation #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #haboob #physics #science #thunderstorm #turbulence

  28. Hypereutrophication, Hydrogen Sulfide, And Environmental Injustices - Mechanisms And Knowledge Gaps At The Salton Sea
    -
    doi.org/10.1029/2024GH001327
    -
    [I have long been fascinated by this ‘accidental waterbody’, from its creation all the way through the extreme pollution issues as it evaporates – and the lithium under it – a heck of a history, culturally, demographically, hydrologically, contaminants, public health, agriculturally and so much more…]
    #GIS #spatial #mapping #Hypereutrophication #HydrogenSulfide, #EnvironmentalInjustice #SaltonSea #California #publichealth #water #hydrology #sea #waterbody #accident #fertiliser #fertilizer #dust #dustborne #lake #degradation #health #community #rural #Latinx #Hispanic #farmworkers #children #TorresMartinezDesert #Cahuilla #Indian #FirstNation #evaporation #H2S #research #waterquality #waterresources #agriculture #environment #airquality #wind #airborne #spatialanalysis #monitoring #spatiotemporal #sensor #emissions #nutrients #Coachella #ImperialValley #sediment

  29. Hypereutrophication, Hydrogen Sulfide, And Environmental Injustices - Mechanisms And Knowledge Gaps At The Salton Sea
    -
    doi.org/10.1029/2024GH001327
    -
    [I have long been fascinated by this ‘accidental waterbody’, from its creation all the way through the extreme pollution issues as it evaporates – and the lithium under it – a heck of a history, culturally, demographically, hydrologically, contaminants, public health, agriculturally and so much more…]
    ,

  30. This is an interesting article, worth a full read, on an aspect of Climate not always talked about in much detail.

    «… The drying out of soil “increases the severity and frequency” of major droughts …, explains Dr Benjamin Cook, an … Earth system scientist … “Droughts are one of the most impactful, expensive natural hazards out there, because they are typically persistent and long lasting. Everything needs water – ecosystems need water, agriculture needs water. People need water. If you don’t have enough water – you’re in trouble.” … The study points to two factors driving gradual depletion of soil moisture over the last quarter century: fluctuations to rainfall patterns and increasing “evaporative demand”. … the atmosphere’s “thirst” for water …»

    When I read about these things, I think of the danger to the food system and human society. It saddens me beyond measure that we've got a society run by capitalists who, like locusts, just want to efficiently consume every last resource the planet has to offer with no apparent regard for the future.

    The article also mentions it will be expensive, though. Does that matter to any of you capitalists? I know risk of societal collapse is not a worthy concern to you, just something to monetize. But it could affect prices along the way. Is THAT perhaps a concern, at least? Sigh.

    carbonbrief.org/global-soil-mo

    #climate #ClimateChange #environment #water #drought #soil #evaporation #EvaporativeDemand #food #FoodSecurity

  31. This is an interesting article, worth a full read, on an aspect of Climate not always talked about in much detail.

    «… The drying out of soil “increases the severity and frequency” of major droughts …, explains Dr Benjamin Cook, an … Earth system scientist … “Droughts are one of the most impactful, expensive natural hazards out there, because they are typically persistent and long lasting. Everything needs water – ecosystems need water, agriculture needs water. People need water. If you don’t have enough water – you’re in trouble.” … The study points to two factors driving gradual depletion of soil moisture over the last quarter century: fluctuations to rainfall patterns and increasing “evaporative demand”. … the atmosphere’s “thirst” for water …»

    When I read about these things, I think of the danger to the food system and human society. It saddens me beyond measure that we've got a society run by capitalists who, like locusts, just want to efficiently consume every last resource the planet has to offer with no apparent regard for the future.

    The article also mentions it will be expensive, though. Does that matter to any of you capitalists? I know risk of societal collapse is not a worthy concern to you, just something to monetize. But it could affect prices along the way. Is THAT perhaps a concern, at least? Sigh.

    carbonbrief.org/global-soil-mo

    #climate #ClimateChange #environment #water #drought #soil #evaporation #EvaporativeDemand #food #FoodSecurity

  32. “My Own Galaxy”

    Fungal spores sketch out minute air currents in this shortlisted photograph by Avilash Ghosh. The moth atop a mushroom appears to admire the celestial view. In the largely still air near the forest floor, mushrooms use evaporation and buoyancy to generate air flows capable of lifting their spores high enough to catch a stray breeze. (Image credit: A. Ghosh/CUPOTY; via Colossal)

    #biology #buoyancy #evaporation #flowVisualization #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #moths #mushrooms #physics #science

  33. “My Own Galaxy”

    Fungal spores sketch out minute air currents in this shortlisted photograph by Avilash Ghosh. The moth atop a mushroom appears to admire the celestial view. In the largely still air near the forest floor, mushrooms use evaporation and buoyancy to generate air flows capable of lifting their spores high enough to catch a stray breeze. (Image credit: A. Ghosh/CUPOTY; via Colossal)

    #biology #buoyancy #evaporation #flowVisualization #fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #moths #mushrooms #physics #science

  34. Quick-Drying, Fast-Cracking

    Water droplets filled with nanoparticles leave behind deposits as they evaporate. Like a coffee ring, particles in the evaporating droplet tend to gather at the drop’s edge (left). As the water evaporates, the deposit grows inward (center) and cracks start to form radially. After just a couple minutes, the solid deposit covers the entire area of the original droplet and is shot through with cracks (right).

    Researchers found that the cracks’ patterns and propagation are predictable through a model that balances the local elastic energy and and the energy cost of fracture. They also found that the spacing between radial cracks depends on the deposit’s local thickness. Besides explaining the patterns seen here, these cracking models could help analyze old paintings, where cracks could hide information about the artist’s methods and the artwork’s condition. (Image and research credit: P. Lilit et al.; via Physics Today)

    #art #cracking #deposition #droplets #drying #evaporation #fluidDynamics #particleSuspension #physics #science

  35. Quick-Drying, Fast-Cracking

    Water droplets filled with nanoparticles leave behind deposits as they evaporate. Like a coffee ring, particles in the evaporating droplet tend to gather at the drop’s edge (left). As the water evaporates, the deposit grows inward (center) and cracks start to form radially. After just a couple minutes, the solid deposit covers the entire area of the original droplet and is shot through with cracks (right).

    Researchers found that the cracks’ patterns and propagation are predictable through a model that balances the local elastic energy and and the energy cost of fracture. They also found that the spacing between radial cracks depends on the deposit’s local thickness. Besides explaining the patterns seen here, these cracking models could help analyze old paintings, where cracks could hide information about the artist’s methods and the artwork’s condition. (Image and research credit: P. Lilit et al.; via Physics Today)

    #art #cracking #deposition #droplets #drying #evaporation #fluidDynamics #particleSuspension #physics #science

  36. The Mystery of the Binary Droplet

    What goes on inside an evaporating droplet made up of more than one fluid? This is a perennially fascinating question with lots of permutations. In this one, researchers observed water-poor spots forming around the edges of an evaporating drop, almost as if the two chemicals within the drop are physically separating from one another (scientifically speaking, “undergoing phase separation“). To find out if this was really the case, they put particles into the drop and observed their behavior as the drop evaporated. What they found is that this is a flow behavior, not a phase one. The high concentration of hexanediol near the edge of the drop changes the value of surface tension between the center and edge of the drop. And that change is non-monotonic, meaning that there’s a minimum in the surface tension partway along the drop’s radius. That surface tension minimum is what creates the separated regions of flow. (Video and image credit: P. Dekker et al.; research pre-print: C. Diddens et al.)

    #2024gofm #droplets #evaporation #flowVisualization #fluidDynamics #instability #physics #science #surfaceTension

  37. The Mystery of the Binary Droplet

    What goes on inside an evaporating droplet made up of more than one fluid? This is a perennially fascinating question with lots of permutations. In this one, researchers observed water-poor spots forming around the edges of an evaporating drop, almost as if the two chemicals within the drop are physically separating from one another (scientifically speaking, “undergoing phase separation“). To find out if this was really the case, they put particles into the drop and observed their behavior as the drop evaporated. What they found is that this is a flow behavior, not a phase one. The high concentration of hexanediol near the edge of the drop changes the value of surface tension between the center and edge of the drop. And that change is non-monotonic, meaning that there’s a minimum in the surface tension partway along the drop’s radius. That surface tension minimum is what creates the separated regions of flow. (Video and image credit: P. Dekker et al.; research pre-print: C. Diddens et al.)

    #2024gofm #droplets #evaporation #flowVisualization #fluidDynamics #instability #physics #science #surfaceTension

  38. How Cooling Towers Work

    Power plants (and other industrial settings) often need to cool water to control plant temperatures. This usually requires cooling towers like the iconic curved towers seen at nuclear power plants. Towers like these use little to no moving parts — instead relying cleverly on heat transfer, buoyancy, and thermodynamics — to move and cool massive amounts of water. Grady breaks them down in terms of operation, structural engineering, and fluid/thermal dynamics in this Practical Engineering video. Grady’s videos are always great, but I especially love how this one tackles a highly visible piece of infrastructure from multiple engineering perspectives. (Video and image credit: Practical Engineering)

    #buoyancy #civilEngineering #convection #engineering #evaporation #fluidDynamics #heatTransfer #infrastructure #physics #science #thermodynamics

  39. How Cooling Towers Work

    Power plants (and other industrial settings) often need to cool water to control plant temperatures. This usually requires cooling towers like the iconic curved towers seen at nuclear power plants. Towers like these use little to no moving parts — instead relying cleverly on heat transfer, buoyancy, and thermodynamics — to move and cool massive amounts of water. Grady breaks them down in terms of operation, structural engineering, and fluid/thermal dynamics in this Practical Engineering video. Grady’s videos are always great, but I especially love how this one tackles a highly visible piece of infrastructure from multiple engineering perspectives. (Video and image credit: Practical Engineering)

    #buoyancy #civilEngineering #convection #engineering #evaporation #fluidDynamics #heatTransfer #infrastructure #physics #science #thermodynamics

  40. Active Cheerios Self-Propel

    The interface where air and water meet is a special world of surface-tension-mediated interactions. Cereal lovers are well-aware of the Cheerios effect, where lightweight O’s tend to attract one another, courtesy of their matching menisci. And those who have played with soap boats know that a gradient in surface tension causes flow. Today’s pre-print study combines these two effects to create self-propelling particle assemblies.

    The team 3D-printed particles that are a couple centimeters across and resemble a cone stuck atop a hockey puck. The lower disk area is hollow, trapping air to make the particle buoyant. The cone serves as a fuel tank, which the researchers filled with ethanol (and, in some cases, some fluorescent dye to visualize the flow). Like soap, ethanol’s lower surface tension disrupts the water’s interface and triggers a flow that pulls the particle toward areas with higher surface tension. But, unlike soap, ethanol evaporates, effectively restoring the interface’s higher surface tension over time.

    With multiple self-propelling particles on the interface, the researchers observed a rich series of interactions. Without their fuel, the Cheerios effect attracted particles to each other. But with ethanol slowly leaking out their sides, the particles repelled each other. As the ethanol ran out and evaporated, the particles would again attract. By tweaking the number and position of fuel outlets on a particle, the researchers found they could tune the particles’ attractions and motility. In addition to helping robots move and organize, their findings also make for a fun educational project. There’s a lot of room for students to play with different 3D-printed designs and fuel concentrations to make their own self-propelled particles. (Research and image credit: J. Wilt et al.; via Ars Technica)

    #3DPrinting #CheeriosEffect #DIYFluids #evaporation #flowVisualization #fluidDynamics #marangoniEffect #physics #science #surfaceTension