2014 Small World In Motion Competition

Oil film floating on water

Dr. John Hart

Affiliation
University of Colorado Boulder
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Boulder, Colorado, USA
Technique
Reflected Light Differential Interference Contrast (Nomarski)
Magnification
12.5x

Thin film of volatile oil floating on a water surface.  Evaporation occurs in isolated pools a few microns deep.  Flow instabilities at the edges bring oil into the centers of the pools, forming droplets.  Coalescence leads to bigger drops that have more volume per unit of surface area, and slower evaporation.  Interference colors dramatize the motions.  The complex microscopic fluid dynamics are relevant to the longevity of fuel spills.

Time-lapse of caffeine crystallization

Dr. Douglas Clark

Affiliation
Paedia Corporation
San Francisco, California, USA
Technique
Polarized Light

Time-lapse of crystals forming in a single drop of a saturated solution of caffeine in water (actual time of 20 minutes compressed into 40 seconds).

Vimentin cytoskeletal dynamics in a cell undergoing mitosis

Dr. Nancy Costigliola-Tarsky

Affiliation
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Technique
Confocal
Magnification
40x