exploratorium

Exhibits

  • Water Drop Photography exhibit

Water-Drop Photography

Catch the momentary beauty of a water drop falling into a pool.

Here you can select and photograph a precise moment—to within a millisecond—as a water droplet falls into a small pool of water. Freezing the action reveals both the complexity and the beauty of fluid motion.  

Where:   Crossroads: Getting Started
Exhibit Developer:   Erik Thogersen, 2010

What's going on?

The fantastic shapes and patterns you can see in this exhibit are largely due to the strong cohesive forces between water molecules, also known as surface tension.

Water molecules are polar, that is, the electric charges within them are arranged so that each molecule has a positive and a negative side. This polarity makes water molecules tend to stick strongly to one another, causing water droplets to form spheres and water surfaces to ripple as if covered in a skin of fabric. 

Harold Edgerton, Milk Drop Coronet. Photo: 1957, © 2010 MIT. Courtesy of MIT Museum. (click image to enlarge)

 

Resources

“Splash! Droplets of Water and Milk Photographed by Corrie White Using a Macro Lens.” The Telegraph. © of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2018.

 
Subjects:
Phenomena: Image Formation
Keywords: lenses, magnification, photography, water
Aliases: Frozen Water Drop
Collections:

More to explore

Science activity that demonstrates the behavior of a spherical lens
Water Sphere Lens
A round bowl of water can act as both a magnifier and a lens.
Science activity demonstrating centripetal force
Water Spinner
Rotating water has a curved surface.

Related exhibits
Icy Bodies

Small chunks of dry ice jet and swirl across a liquid surface.

Liquid Litmus

Ionized water swirls in pH-indicating dye.

Startle Response

Watch surprise spread across your face.

Time to Think

As a task becomes more complex, it requires more mental effort—and that takes time.

IMLS acknowledgment

This web project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-30-16-0175-16].