Water droplets on a CD bead up and display refraction, reflection, diffraction and dispersion of light.

By Daniel Maguire, Stefan Schultz, and Eric Pena for Fall 2015 Team Second.
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Water droplets on a CD bead up and display refraction, reflection, diffraction and dispersion of light.

Water droplets on a CD bead up and display refraction, reflection, diffraction and dispersion of light.

Water droplets on a CD bead up and display refraction, reflection, diffraction and dispersion of light.

Hot gases jet out of a small opening in the end of an aluminum can when a butane torch is applied to the far end.

Rubbing alchohol shaken in a jug and lit creates a premixed cellular flame.

A chef’s butane torch varies between a diffusion flame and a premixed flame, depending on the air mixed in.

Glycerin fog from an e-cigarette was illuminated by sweeping a 500 mW green laser pointer beam.

Smoke from an extinguished match rises slowly enough to remain laminar until it dissipates.

Buoyant smoke from an incense plume develops secondary plumes, headed by vortex rings.

A buoyant incense smoke plume accelerates upward, triggering the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.