#granular raft

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Waves Break Up Floating Rafts

Small particles can float on a liquid, held together as a raft through capillary action. But those rafts -- the the tea skin below -- break up when waves jostle them. (Image and research credit: L. Saddier et al.; via APS Physics) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Swedish Egg Coffee

In the mid-1800s, Scandinavian immigrants settling in the Midwest had no filters, no percolators, and no drip coffee makers to aid their quest for a cup of coffee. Instead, they used eggs to boil a smooth, grit-free cup.  (Image credit: K. Tomlinson; via Atlas Obscura; submitted by Richard B.) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

"Coat or Collapse?"

Imagine a layer of particles sitting at the interface between oil and water. Known as a granular raft, these particles can interact in interesting ways with other objects.  (Image credit: C. Gabbard et al.) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Morphing Particle Rafts

A layer of tiny glass beads sitting atop a pool of castor oil becomes a morphing surface in this video. Applying an electric field creates enough electrostatic force to draw the interface upward against the power of both gravity and surface tension.  (Image and video credit: K. Sun et al.) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Encapsulating Drops

Sometimes a droplet needs a little protection while it's traveling to its destination. When that's the case, we often try to encapsulate it in a layer of material that won't be affected by whatever environment the drop is traveling through. (Image credits: top - Girl with red hat, experiment - A. Hooshanginejad et al.; research credit: A. Hooshanginejad et al.)

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

In nature, objects like asteroids, black holes, and atomic nuclei can get distorted when spinning rapidly. Researchers are exploring these objects using a new model platform: particle rafts levitated by sound. (Video, image, and research credit: M. Lim et al.; via APS Physics)

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Rifts in Rafts

A raft of particles floating on water has some natural cohesion from particle attraction and capillary action. But when the raft is pulled apart, what happens? (Image and video credit: K. Tô and S. Nagel)

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Particles at an interface like to gather into a raft thanks to the Cheerio's effect, and once formed, breaking them up can be hard. (Image and research credit: A. Lagarde and S. Protière)