image credit: Laurel Swift; larger image as exhibited in Flow Visualization, 2004 Gallery: Get Wet

Flow Visualization

The photo shows plumes from the Raleigh-Taylor instability, produced by dropping green food coloring in vinegar and red in sugar syrup. To learn more about this kind of fluid motion, see the Physics Central feature Mixing Physics: Raleigh-Taylor instabilities.  

For more images of fluid flow, see Flow Visualization.

This feature was updated on July 7, 2013.

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Fermilabyrinth

Visit Fermilabyrinth, produced by Fermilab, for online games and activities about elementary particles. In the section "Ghost Bustin," you'll learn about contemporary particle detectors. Also, visit Particle Adventure for an introduction to the subatomic world.

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Bubble Chamber Site

Photo © CERN larger image
This spiral track was made in a bubble chamber--a particle detector used in the 1970s and 1980s--and it was made by an electron that was knocked out of a hydrogen atom by one of the upward-moving particles. To learn more about this track, visit the CERN Gallery of Bubble Chamber (BC) Pictures, go to "Gallery of BC Pictures," and click on "electron."

Through Einstein's Eyes

Visit this site for a simulation of what you would see if travel were possible at light speed. You can take a rollercoaster ride, observe a tram moving near the speed of light, and tour of the solar system. Elsewhere in the site, you can explore the physics of special relativity. To learn more about Einstein, visit the Center for the History of Physics' online exhibits and go to "Albert Einstein--Image and Impact."