In their continuing quest to squish all the things, the Hydraulic Press channel recently debuted a tool with a series of small holes they can extrude various substances through. The video features several great extrusions, including oobleck, temperature-sensitive putty, cheese, and crayons (above). Most of these substances are non-Newtonian fluids of some kind, and the extreme forces the hydraulic press causes makes for some wild effects.
Many of the substances, including the crayons above, display signs of the sharkskin instability in their rough edges. When non-Newtonian fluids (like the paraffin wax in crayons) get extruded quickly, the material at the edges experiences a lot of friction and shear when trying to flow along the wall of the hole. When the fluid finally breaks free, the region along the outside accelerates to match the speed of fluid at the center of the extrusion. Parts of the mixture may resist that acceleration, resulting in the uneven edges seen above. (Video credit: Hydraulic Press Channel; GIF via Colossal)
Thank you so much for your support during 2018, I wanted to share some my own personal favorite illustration done during the year, I hope that 2018 was a great year for you and that 2019 will bring you a lot of joy and happiness!
Mike Olbinski’s latest storm chasing timelapse, “Monsoon V,” is once again spectacular. Although I do think the name could have been “Haboob” instead, given how many sweeping dust clouds encroach on the viewer. These towering wall clouds of dust can form from downdrafts at the leading edge of a cold front, or from the fading remains of a thunderstorm. In dry, dusty regions like Arizona, the strong downward winds spread outward as they near the ground, picking up dust and sand. Below you can see two examples of haboobs racing ahead of fronts.
The middle image shows a microburst, where a sudden, localized downdraft falls out of the storm. Notice how the wind and rain sweep outward as they near the ground. This is typical of any flow heading straight toward a wall! Check out the full video for lots more gorgeous fluid dynamics in action. (Video and image credit: M. Olbinski)