Team 3 // Chad Sloan

Team 3 // Chad Sloan

Food Dye in Milk

Help from: Will Tse, Chris McFadden, Steven Li

               The purpose if this image was to capture an image of the classic experiment of putting food dye, dish soap, and milk together.  We wanted to be able to capture multiple images as the liquid was moving.  The first few times we added to much milk or to little food dye are were not pleased with the physics and images that were being produced, but after a few test runs we were able to nail down the correct portions and produce images that we all liked.  Thanks to the help from my teammates, Will, Steven and Chris we were able to produce multiple images that we liked.

               In order to capture this image, we used a paper bowl, milk, 3 colors of food dye and dish soap.  First, we added milk to a blue line in the bowl that we were using to keep the amount constant throughout trials, then we added 3-4 drops of each food color around the outside of the bowl and to start the flow a drop of dish soap was added to the middle of the bowl.

               The physics behind this flow is a chemical one. The milk which was mostly water, fat and proteins are sensitive to changes to its surrounding.  Once the dish soap was added it dropped the surface tension of the milk around it and forced the food coloring to start to move.  The higher surrounding surface tension then pulled the milk and the food coloring from the bottom of the bowl and then forced it back out again.

                 Food dye was added in order to see the effect of the dish soap dropping the surface tension and forcing the milk to move.  The lighting used to capture this image was that of the room we were in and a phone flash light. With this lighting we were able to reduce glare and focus on the movement more.

               In order to capture this image, I used my roommate’s Cannon SL1.  I had the F-stop set to f/5, exposure time at 1/60 sec, ISO at 400 and a focal length of 41 mm.  I chose all these setting because after playing with the camera for a little I found that these setting helped me produce the best image possible.  In post processing I turned the blacks darker are whites brighter as well as cropping it in a circle.

               I feel like this image reveals a lot.  It helps show what can happen when different fluids mix and how they interact.  I like the final image that I was able to produce. I feel like in the end the image looks good and shows the flow well.  If I were to redo I would use a Q-Tip to add in the dish soap, that way we would be able to better control it.

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10 Comments. Leave new

  • Hana Kieger
    Dec 10, 2018 12:14

    I like this image – it’s a little out of focus, but the flow is still clear.

    Reply
  • Chris Davidoff
    Dec 5, 2018 12:47

    What a festive color for this flow! Well done. I’m not sure if I want to drink this eggnog though

    Reply
  • Owen Brown
    Dec 5, 2018 12:47

    Love the colors! Really nice effect with the surface tension driven flow.

    Reply
  • Peilin Yang
    Dec 5, 2018 12:37

    The high contrast with red and green is my favourite part in the image. The motion blur enhance the mysterious sense. And Christams style is a nice idea.

    Reply
  • Chase Cleveland
    Dec 5, 2018 12:36

    I like the vibrant colors in this image. Try centering the circle in the frame when cropping for better symmetry.

    Reply
  • Ivan Komodore
    Dec 5, 2018 12:35

    I like all the bright colors against the white milk and black background. It bothers me a little bit that the circle is not centered in the frame

    Reply
  • Charles Keely
    Dec 5, 2018 12:35

    The image is a bit out of focus but I like the abstract shapes coming out of this Marangoni flow.

    Reply
  • Jeremy Aparicio
    Dec 5, 2018 12:34

    The focus could be a bit sharper, but the color scheme of this image is really pleasant to look at.

    Reply
  • Garrett Gerchar
    Dec 5, 2018 12:34

    The bubbling effect and colors really remind me of alice in wojnderland and movies in that vein. Very cool image!!!

    Reply
  • Interesting image! Looks like the focus is slightly out but the colors are super nice. Very cool to see all of the different colors throughout the image.

    Reply

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