Physics in Pictures

A snowflake is formed when a droplet of water freezes onto a pollen or dust particle in the atmosphere, creating an ice crystal. All snowflakes are made of water – H2O - a molecule of which contains two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. A typical snow crystal contains 1018 water molecules. Features of ice crystals are affected by atmospheric conditions – they change shape and size as they fall from the sky. Therefore, virtually every snowflake has its own history. The majority of snowflakes are irregularly shaped – many small crystals clumped together with no apparent pattern. Yet, some have a more traditional snowflake form, featuring a six-fold symmetry with beautifully intricate detail. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #elearning #highered #science #instascience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #snowflake #iceicebaby❄️ #snowstorms #letitgo (at Dresden, Germany) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLq4I4cHk5E/?igshid=1j1oqnjc210fv

More than 600 000 gallons of water flow over Niagara Horseshoe Falls every second. Water in the Niagara river is (mostly) colorless, but why does the waterfall look white? When water falls, millions of tiny air pockets get mixed in. The surfaces of these bubbles reflect light differently, compared to non-aerated water, making water look white. When the water falls, the flow changes from laminar to turbulent. Laminar flow is uniform and smooth, which gives the traditional green-blue-grey color of the calm rivers, lakes, and oceans. The turbulent flow is rapid and non-uniform, hence white ocean waves and whitewater rapids. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #waterfall #turbulence #Niagara #canadaeh🇨🇦 #iamontheehhteam😉 #travelphotography #canadabeauty #niagarafalls (at Niagara Falls, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKORNXYn7s9/?igshid=1t7mohi5xivq4

Up is Not the Only Way! When a model rocket is launched vertically up, its path will not be a straight line. Instead, wind striking the side of the rocket will rotate the rocket about its center of gravity, producing a new flight path. Because of this, the maximum altitude reachable by the rocket will be reduced. This effect is known as weather cocking, taking its name from a wind direction indicators typically placed atop of buildings. In aircraft, this effect has to be accounted for, ensuring directional stability. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #ınstagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #space #Disney #minniemouse #weathercock #travelthrowback #disneyland (at Disneyland/Califonia Adventure) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFoaYwbn7Ih/?igshid=hpdj8qyjt5pq

From Zippers to Skyscrapers! Pure iron is a silvery-white metal which is easy to cut and shape into sheets or wires. It is quickly corroded by moisture, creating reddish oxide we call rust. These properties change dramatically once about 2% of the iron is replaced with carbon, creating steel. Over 1000 types of steel exist, with the properties designed to perform specific jobs. For instance, stainless steel is created by adding about 10% chromium. The chromium in steel binds with oxygen in the air, creating a very thin protective layer, making it highly resistant to corrosion. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #steel #stainless #StainlessSteel #Oaxaca #Mexico (at Oaxaca City) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2UUEFVnzEf/?igshid=hnkxh9bvenm3

Let’s Fly, Fly Away! The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was first introduced in 1952, able to carry up to 70 000 lbs or 32 000 kg, which is equivalent to the weight of 22 Toyota Camrys. One of its interesting design features is a unique ejection system – two out of five crew members are ejected downwards, contrary to the traditional upward ejection. The ejection consists of two parts: first, the seat is propelled with either a small explosive or a rocket motor, exerting forces as high as 20G. Second, a parachute is opened at a safe height, allowing for a successful descent. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #airplane #parachutes #flying @b52brewing (at Conroe, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/By2hhpQHLGG/?igshid=1iijziu8p9emu

Bridges to cross and bridges to burn. The Brooklyn Bridge has been an icon of the New York City for over 130 years. The construction of the bridge began by building of the two towers – in order to build a proper foundation, workers had to be lowered into a massive pit within the East River. Shortly after the work began, many workers became sick with a mysterious illness. This is believed to be the first diagnoses of the decompression sickness, also known as divers decease or the bends. If the ambient pressure is reduced, tiny nitrogen bubbles within your body start to grow, interfering with normal blood flow. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #newyork #ilovenewyork #Brooklyn #brooklynbridge #NYC #empirestate https://www.instagram.com/p/BvHsaxeH2_k/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12pj61qw6r6g2

When is quacks like a duck. There are very few dishes that are as complex as the famous Peking duck, also known as lacquered duck. This process, which has been perfected for centuries, is based on two chemical reactions – caramelization and polymerization. Honey, combined with acidic rice vinegar or soy sauce, is used to lacquer the duck. The acidity slows down the caramelization while honey ensures the deep brown color of the skin. The vanishing is repeated several times at temperatures around 70*C (160*F), with the whole procedure taking between 2 and 3 days. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #pekingduck #peking #china #Chinese #duck #foodie #chinesenewyear #yearofthepig #celebration #Beijing (hier: Beijing, China) https://www.instagram.com/p/BttZ1d-HyBG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9neu9ft5gxr6

Not Just Apples. While Newton’s apple-driven interest in gravity is widely known, his work in optics was also very influential. In particular, his experiments with prisms and lenses resulted in a first reflecting telescope. One of the most crucial observations was showing that white light is composed of different colours – by passing it through a glass prism a full spectrum of light can be observed. The ideas summarised by Newton in his book “Opticks” led to the development of a tunable laser nearly 300 years later. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #newton #rainbow #prism #light #apples #happythanksgiving #applepie #dinosaurs (hier: Dresden, Germany) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqfiTYhnpbT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=i65unjihjyde

Time flies like a shadow. Every civilisation realised just how important the behaviour of the sun is and before the invention of the clock, sundials were the only way to tell time. Both the azimuth (direction) and the altitude (height) of the sun are used to measure time. As the sun moves across the sky, a shadow of the gnomon (thin metal rod) is cast onto the platform. However, a simple stick in the ground will not always work, since the Earth’s axis is tilted. This could be accounted for by tilting the gnomon or the platform of the sundial. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #sundial #sun #timeflies #vienna #austria #schonbrunn #vacay #nokangaroosinaustria (hier: Vienna, Austria) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpmEGiaHXFo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gnamgn2y64o2

Exactly 2 years, more than 50 posts and more than 10k followers later - a very special guest post by a good friend and an amazing chemist Lydia Kisley @Lydia_Kisley @manyweirddays !!! Thirsty? Some anise-flavored aperitifs (pastis, ouzu, absinthe) go from transparent to opaque with the addition of water. These drinks contain an essential oil. In the liquor alone these oily molecules are perfectly happy. But pour in some water and the molecules join others to form an emulsion– small droplets of oily molecules that separate from the water. The oily particles are microscopic and scatter light, making your drink cloudy. A delicious example of phase-separation - cheers! #Physics #InstaPhysics #ColloidsRCool #RealTimeChem #SciComm #OilAndWater #Scattering #Optics #Ricard #Pastis #SouthOfFrance #todayilearned #chemistry #mindblown #europe (hier: Grenoble, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn9HasdARdM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1lt2wsc89r8bh

Not All Who Wander are Lost. Before 1820, the light from most lighthouses was only able to reach 5 miles or 6 km, which was barely enough to guide ships into the harbor, let alone steer them away from the dangerous shores. A converging lens, invented by physicist Augustin Jean Fresnel, revolutionized lighthouse design. Converging lenses are typically used to focus parallel light rays down to a point. In a lighthouse, however, this is done in reverse, shaping the light from a relatively small source into a beam that can be seen far away at sea. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #lighthouse #sea #light #euchems #Liverpool #boatsboatsboats #albertdock (hier: Liverpool) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnHl5M2Aysu/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ho6pnharvwtw

Blown Away! Soap bubbles rely on a delicate balance between the surface tension of the soap film, pressure from inside and outside the bubble, and gravity. The tendency to minimize the wall tension gives bubbles its spherical shape. Even though the soap film has less surface tension than pure water (which pulls itself into tiny droplets) it is nevertheless strong enough to be able to maintain the bubble with such a small wall thickness. However, the life of a soap bubble is short: As gravity pulls the water to the bottom of the bubble, the walls thin and, eventually, cause the bubble to pop. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #soapbubble #bubbles #bubbly #Berlin #Germany #weekendtrips (at Berlin, Germany)

Cloud Control. Clouds consist of tiny droplets of liquid water, small ice crystals or a mixture of the two. These droplets are about 0.02 mm (one thousandth of an inch) in size and form as a result of condensation of water vapor. Formation of droplets requires the presence of cloud condensation nuclei which are 0.0001 mm (one millionth of an inch) in size and can be composed of dust, soot, clay or even sea salt from the ocean. Cloud seeding encourages rainfall by artificially filling the air with condensation nuclei. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #landing #canada #canadaeh #toronto #clouds #sky (at Toronto, Ontario)

Mechanical properties of trees – often in relation to construction – have been studied extensively since the beginning of time. While it is expected that a tall, thick tree should be as strong as a short, thin one – no consensus had been reached on the exact scaling laws at play. Recently, a study established that all tree trunks break, independent of their diameter, height, age, or tree species, once the wind reaches the critical speed of 42 m/s (or 90 mph). However, the palm trees are an exception – they can survive winds above 53 m/s (or 120 mph). All thanks to their highly flexible trunks – instead of concentric hollow cylinders, the trunk is composed of many small bunches of woody material (think bundles of wires inside a telephone cable). #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #scienceart #palma #palmademallorca #Mallorca #Spain #travel

Light it Up! The famous German drink Feuerzangenbowle is created by setting on fire a rum-soaked sugarloaf, which drips into heated Glühwein (mulled wine). Clean fuels like propane, natural gas, or alcohol in this case, burn mainly into carbon dioxide and water vapor, both of which are invisible. The yellow flames come from little pieces of soot, which don't heat up quite enough to contribute to the blue part of the spectrum. This is why the clean, blue flames are smokeless, while the dirty, yellow flames come with smoke. Other colors of the flame can be achieved by adding various chemicals to it: barium = green, copper = blue, lithium and strontium = red, calcium = orange, sodium = yellow. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #scienceart #Germany #Dresdenlove #feuerzangenbowle #bottomsup #Christmastraditions #holidays2017 #happynewyear (at Dresden, Germany)

Science Versus Art. In 1704 Isaac Newton published “Opticks” – a book that analyzed the fundamental nature of light. A century later, Johann Goethe wrote the “Theory of Colours” in which he argued that the properties of light and color depend on the way it is perceived by humans. While the scientific basis of Goethe’s work was rejected by physicists, it was very influential in the arts community, particularly among pictorial artists such as Kandinsky. By combining 18th century enlightenment with 19th century romanticism, Goethe created a great example of science-based art. #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday #smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #scienceart #europe #statue #Goethe #Newton #art #scienceandart #Vienna #Austria #weekendtrip (at Vienna, Austria)

Playing in the Sun. Nuclear fusion within Sun’s core turns hydrogen into helium, releasing a large amount of energy. This energy is carried by photons, that travel from the core towards Sun’s surface. Photon’s path can be thought of as a ͞random walk͟ problem: every time an obstacle is encountered, the path is changed. It is estimated that it takes between 10 000 and 200 000 years for the photon to reach the Sun’s surface. Once at the surface, it only takes about 8 minutes for the photons to reach the Earth.  #physics #photooftheday #picoftheday#smile #instagood #elearning #highered #science #openscience #mindblown #todayilearned #instaphysics #sun #sunnydays #dogslife #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #winteriscoming #modragonsmoproblems #messyhairdontcare #puppies (at Westfield, New York)