Researcher in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering were able to create this surreal looking image. To do so, they injected a low viscosity fluid into one that was much thicker. The low viscosity liquid must be about 10 times thinner than the other liquid in order for these finger like tendrils to appear. This flow vis example caught my attention not only because of the beautiful coloration but because of the life like quality that the tendrils have. It reminds me of something that would be present in human anatomy, such as nerves or in the lungs or something. It is very intriguing to look at and brings a lot of character to the materials.
(Image by Birendra Jha)
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Third Prize, another absolutely stunning photo with fantastic color. I love the use of the black background to really make the subject pop.
First Prize – This photo is wonderful to me first because of its visual appearance. The contrast of the bright orange on a completely black background is wonderful and incredibly pleasing to the eye. Second, the phenomena that is displays of to liquids of vastly different viscosities interacting is very interesting. This highlights the fractal nature that real flows create (which is what turbulence is based on) when the forces at work are as vastly different as this.
Second Prize – The contrast between the low and high viscosity fluid highlights the unusual pattern, and the shear difficulty of finding a set of fluids with a 10x difference in viscosity is pretty impressive, let alone a set that can be clearly imaged.
I think this image deserves First Prize. Not only is it beautifully well-composed, but it is also demonstrating a technique of mixing fluids that is a solution to a problem; mixing fluids in tight spaces. Truly an intersection of art and engineering. Very cool.