High speed photography of ink diffusing in water.

Fluid Mechanics as Art

Brian (EAFadmin)

Note: This post is being reposted here exactly as it originally appeared on TeamUV.org

Good morning, I will be filling in for Ketton’s normal timeslot today due to a last minute complication, so this post will be pretty short.

Fluid mechanics does a lot for us as engineers and scientists with regards to everything from furthering our understanding of planetary atmospheres, to helping us to figure out how to supply an entire country with flowing water, to allowing us to analyze the aerodynamics of some of the most complex vehicles the world has ever seen, the reach of fluid mechanics extends far beyond that of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.  One area in which fluid mechanics is finding more and more application is in the use of fluid mechanics as art.

Now, the form of fluid mechanics seen in art is a little bit different in that we are not talking about the high-order, nonlinear, partial differential equations or the highly complex scientific theory behind the flow of fluids, but rather simply the beauty associated with all that flows.  The video (A Love Like Pi ‘Jack and the Giant’ by Kim Pimmel) at the top of the post is an excellent example of this and shows how fluid mechanics can be quite mesmerizing.  As stated by Nicole Sharp over at FYFD (please excuse the name of this website, the blog itself & its content & posts are top notch!) shares, this video essentially uses the interactions between diffusion, buoyancy, Marangoni Flow, ferrofluidics, and other fluid dynamic phenomena to create something pretty awesome.  This kind of interaction between many different highly complex fluid dynamic effects within a seeming simple phenomenon is very much so characteristic of the world of fluid mechanics; and while it may take years of education and training in the field of fluid mechanics to even begin to truly understand and be able to analyze these flows on a scientific engineering level, part of the beauty of fluid mechanics is that anyone, regardless of education or background, can enjoy the aesthetics of it.

To close off this post, I have included a few more pictures of flows within the context of art with short, truncated lists of some of the phenomena at play/fluids keywords for each of them.  Enjoy!

Note: All images below found through FYFD.

Bubbles in a mixture of oil and water. Keywords: Bubbles, Miscibility, Surface Tension.
Bubbles in a mixture of oil and water. Keywords: Bubbles, Miscibility, Surface Tension. Photo Credit: Vendula Adriana Kaprálová Hauznerová (staceythinx.tumblr.com)
View underneath a plunging breaking wave.
View underneath a plunging breaking wave. Effects: Waves, Rib Vortices & Main Vortex, Plunging Breaker, Conservation of Angular Momentum, Vorticity, Buoyancy, Surface Tension. Photo Credit: Ray Collins (theinertia.com)
Often termed the problem of the millennium, determining the location of transition from laminar to turbulent flow still remains nearly impossible; a smoke plume rises from an incense stick.
Often termed the problem of the millennium, determining the location of transition from laminar to turbulent flow still remains nearly impossible; a smoke plume rises from an incense stick. Keywords: Buoyancy, Laminar, Turbulent, Transitional Flow, Vorticity, Plume. Photo Credit: Marko Rosic (flickr.com/photos/roske)
Ferrofluid sculpture; ferrofluidics is being studied in relation to everything from computer components to biomedical applications to the understanding of the multiverse.
Ferrofluid sculpture; ferrofluidics is being studied in relation to everything from computer components to biomedical applications to the understanding of the multiverse. Keywords: Ferrofluids, Electromagnetic, Normal Field Instability, Surface Tension. Photo Credit: P. Davis et al. (Colorado.edu)
Floral still life art created with high speed photos of falling fluid impacts.
Floral still life art created with high speed photos of falling fluid impacts. Keywords: Surface Tension, Droplet Impact, Jets, Splashes, Vibration. Photo Credit: Jack Long (jacklongphoto.carbonmade.com)
High speed photography of ink diffusing in water.
High speed photography of ink diffusing in water. Keywords: Buoyancy, Surface Tension, Diffusion, Whorl, Fluid Instabilities, Rayleigh Taylor Instability, Turbulence. Photo Credit: Alberto Seveso (burdu976.com/phs)

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