Ball on water-beam
Drawn to the jet. Table tennis balls float on a water fountain: how is that possible? The ball doesn’t stay exactly in the center of the jet. It rotates…
Chaotic fountain
«Chaotic (or Turbulent) Fountain» Direction of rotation: impossible to predict. The twelve containers of this fountain wheel are all the same size. They are…
Chaotic Pendulum
Momentum and Joint A long, light pendulum connected to a small but heavy pendulum. A push on the knob sets the entire system in motion. The effect on the…
Chaotic Pendulum II
Momentum and Reversal Three smaller pendulums attached to a large rotating arm. A push on the knob sets the entire system in motion. The effect on the three…
Cloud Chamber
Particle Zoo: Ever seen a muon? Electrically charged particles are not directly visible, even in the diffusion cloud chamber. However, alpha and beta…
Convection cells
«Convection Cells» Warm air rises, as does warm liquid. This forces air and moisture to descend in other areas. The structures that form resemble cauliflower…
Dancing Water Drop
Leidenfrost Phenomenon. The water droplet lasts surprisingly long when it falls onto a scorching hot plate. It zips across the 280-degree surface, carried by…
Icy Bodies
Comet Rain Dry ice doesn’t melt when it warms up. It turns directly into a gas, and very quickly too. This gas shoots out of the small fragments involved…
Internal Waves
Wave Backwards Tilt the container – the heavier blue liquid flows downward. When it hits the container wall, it bounces back, creating a wave moving…
Kalliroscope©
Magic and Beauty of Flowing Motion A vortex generator or rather a spectator par excellence. It allows for enchanting, seemingly chaotic, yet somehow regular…
Landfall
Funnels and Valleys The sand in this large glass sphere flows through holes in the bottom, creating breaks in the sand’s surface that resemble alpine…
Meanderings
Meanders on glass. The glass plate is slightly tilted. Thin streams of water flow over it. What paths does the water take? The fastest path is a straight…
Settling Column
«Settling Column» Sand follows gravity. The same happens in this rotating glass tube. Mostly filled with water, the sand settles at the bottom. How can the…
Taylor-Couette Vortices
Taylor-Couette Flow Two nested cylinders: The gap between them is filled with a liquid (kalliroscope) that makes flows visible. The inner cylinder can…
Tectonic Basin
«Tectonic Basin» When the earth shakes, solid ground begins to flow or even «boil» as if it were liquid. Here, the garnet-red sand particles vibrate and move…
The big is in the small: crystals
Amazing Order Shake it, please. When the balls come to rest, they arrange themselves into regular patterns. These patterns can be compacted, almost to…
The Tea Leaves Experiment / Tea Cup Experiment
«Everyday Physics» Experiment like Albert Einstein. In a paper about river meander formation, he wrote: «I begin with a small experiment that anyone can…
Turbulent Orb
Currents and their Shapes Ever spun a globe? Turned by a hand crank, it creates horizontal bands. What happens when the movement slows down? Chaotic, stormy…
Underwater Avalanche
«Underwater Avalanche» The "sand" in this round, water-filled vessel consists of tiny glass beads. Depending on the tilt of the disc, the flow patterns vary…
Underwater Sandstorm
Underwater dunes At the seaside, in the shallow sandy shore, you can observe an underwater dune landscape sculpted by the tides. In the plexiglass sphere…
Vertical Mobiles (Chaotic Pendulums)
Chaotic pendulums. Length and amplitude: the behavior of a simple pendulum can be precisely described. No randomness involved. Add another pendulum, then one…
Watch Water Freeze / Ice Flowers
Watch Water Freeze Crystals form on the cold surface, like frost flowers on windows, a sight we see less often thanks to better insulation. Here, you can see…
Acoustics
Aggregate states
Algorithms
Animals, plants, habitats
Atomic and quantum physics
Atomic structure
Automats
Biology
Buoyancy
Characteristics of life
Chemical Reactions
Chemistry
Colors
Computer science
Cryptology
Currents
Data and information
Design elements
Earth sciences
Electricity
Electricity and energy
Electricity and magnetism
Elektromagnetismus
Encryption