air

Showing 22 posts tagged air

Watch YouTube user Xraise Cornell create a homemade horizontal vortex ring generator. When a small burst of air is released into a toroidal or poloidal vortex — essentially a spinning donut of water — it shapes the air into its own ring along the water’s trajectory, creating a vortex ring or a bubble ring.

While we have not made this invention (yet), it looks like a lot of fun. Or of course, with a lot of practice, you could try to make them with no materials at all, just like the dolphins do. Just remember to always be safe. Adult supervision is recommended when using tools or trying experiments underwater.

Or if you want to stay dry, try making a homemade vortex cannon with a tightly closed box with a narrow round hole at the end. Watch!

And here I thought this was just an animated gif, but no, via Daily Picks & Flicks, there’s a video of a diver making a bubble ring or vortex ring, above.

A vortex ring is the phenomenon where a quantity of fluid or gas in a toroid (donut) shape, travels through a medium of fluid or gas, while spinning like a thick circular bracelet that is being rolled off of a person’s arm. (Except the spin is in the opposite direction as when a bracelet is rolled off in this way.)

And evidently there are a series of videos from this diver. Here are two more:

Are these videos real? Yes, we’re pretty sure they are. So how exactly is this done? A small burst of air is released into a toroidal or poloidal vortex, essentially a spinning donut of water. 

Bubble rings are actually made of two different rings, one inside the other, spinning in the same direction. The outer ring is made of water, and the inner one is made of air… 

From YouTube User Maxwel Hohn, How to make a horizontal bubble ring:

Just remember to always be safe when underwater. Please conduct all experiments with adult supervision. 

Related watching: make your own underwater vortex ring generator, make a homemade vortex cannon, or the viral video of cetaceans blowing bubble rings.

I suddenly have the urge to go blow across the top of a bottle. This is Aeolus, an Acoustic Wind Pavilion, and I have no doubt that we would stand within it for quite a while… great sound. It reminded me immediately of England’s Singing Ringing Tree, as well as the sound of Tibetan Singing Bowls. 

jtotheizzoe:

This amazing art project goes along with my latest YouTube episode about gusty science: What Is Wind?…

Luke Jerram is a colorblind artist based in the UK. Aeolus is a sonic creation that blends acoustic physics, inspirations from classical civilizations, and visual adventure. The arch is a large Aeolian harp, an ancient instrument that uses the wind’s vibration on strings to send a frequency down a long metal tube. 

image

A listener in the center of the arch experiences sounds transmitted from a field of taut strings and naturally harmonic open tubes. In addition, the angle of light transmitted through the polished pipes creates an altered listening environment. The experience can change by the minute or hour depending on wind conditions.

The tightened strings vibrate due to something called the von Karman vortex street effect, where the vortex created behind a string causes it to vibrate. It’s similar to what happens when a car antenna begins to sing in the wind.

You can see a photo gallery here, and listen to interviews and sound samples here.

A true feat of beauty and science.

(via Luke Jerram)

We were just watching how wind (and so many other things) can get going with the spin of the Earth, now let’s go deeper and find out more about what wind is with PBS’ Dr. Joe Hanson of It’s Okay To Be Smart.

Then watch a surprising amount of videos about spinning and wind in the archives.

(via jtotheizzoe)