Duncan Laird

Blue food dye expands into through viscous white glue in intricate fractals once made more viscous by adding dish detergent to the dye.

Get Wet Report PDF:

https://www.flowvis.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/MCEN-5151-Get-Wet-Report-2.pdf

A simple droplet impact can create interesting physics, including this Worthington jet.

Air bubbles in blue-dyed glycerin in a Hele-Shaw cell.

A mixture of blue food dye and olive oil injected into olive oil in a Hele Shaw cell fingers in the Saffman Taylor instability at small scale.

Food dye injected into olive oil forms the Saffman-Taylor fingering instability in a Hele-Shaw cell, in front of a red background.

Fluid in a thin layer between plexiglas sheets exhibits a fingering instability when the sheets are separated and air is drawn in. Also known as the Taylor-Saffman instability in a Hele Shaw cell.

Blue food dye fingers into olive oil in a Hele Shaw cell as the top plate is lifted, creating a pressure gradient towards the center.

Edges between soap bubbles in a two-dimensional sheet form arcs.

Bubbles erupt as air is blown downward into water through a one inch diameter tube.

As a 700 F steel ball is quenched in water, the left photo shows the vapor jacket surrounding the ball, and the right image shows oxidized metal flaking off due to rapid cooling and contraction.

Two 1/2 inch steel balls, heated to 700 F, bracket a room temperature ball as all three are dropped into water. The two heated balls show large wakes due to the Liedenfrost effect.