Spray Can.1

Actual Elapsed Time: 1/100th of a second

A thin sheet of water streams out of a spray bottle and then breaks up into tiny droplets. Normally, we can only see the fine droplets produced by a spray can or bottle. But by slowing the action down 1,000 times, we can view the subtle transition the liquid undergoes as it enters the air. At first, the liquid is held together by a force called surface tension. But as the stream spreads out, surface tension no longer holds the liquid together and the stream breaks up. At this reduced speed, we can also detect a slight pulsing in the flow of liquid. This is most likely caused by the shape of the spray nozzle itself. Such repeating patterns are often caused by an exotic form of change called chaotic motion.

How This Clip Was Made:

This slow-motion video was created using a special video camera that takes 1,000 images a second (a normal video camera takes only 30 images a second). The video was digitized and transferred to a computer. The action was slowed down even more by displaying each image twice.Footage provided by: NAC Visual Systems. Special Thanks: Dick Freeborg, NAC Visual Systems.

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Spray Can.2 - Actual Elapsed Time: 1/10th of a second