Uploaded December 2019 | Updated September 2026, 20 hours ago
Dancing Balls Lead to a Physics Discovery
Toss a few droplets of water in a hot pan and they seem to come alive, skittering to and fro as if trying to escape. Try the same thing with balls of hydrogel, and they actually could break free. The spheres bounce animatedly about a hot pan, emitting a piercing, shrieking noise as they do so. Both tricks are due to something called the Leidenfrost effect, which describes the instantaneous vaporization that occurs when water touches a hot surface. If enough steam is produced, it can be enough to levitate water droplets above a pan, allowing them to race about without evaporating.
Read the full story at: discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/dancing-balls-lead-to-a-physics-discovery
—
Credit: Waitukaitis, S., Zuiderwijk, A., Souslov, A. et al. Coupling the Leidenfrost effect and elastic deformations to power sustained bouncing. Nature Phys 13, 1095–1099 (2017) doi:10.1038/nphys4194
—
ABOUT DISCOVER:
Discover is your source for science that matters, makes sense and is a lot of fun, too.
Visit us at: discovermagazine.com
FOLLOW US:
Facebook: facebook.com/DiscoverMag
Twitter: twitter.com/DiscoverMag
Instagram: instagram.com/discover.magazine
SUPPORT US:
Subscribe to Discover: bit.ly/34seAFT
Sign up for our newsletter: discovermagazine.com/newsletter-signup
My Science Shop: myscienceshop.com
STAY CURIOUS!
Dancing Balls Lead to a Physics Discovery
Toss a few droplets of water in a hot pan and they seem to come alive, skittering to and fro as if trying to escape. Try the same thing with balls of hydrogel, and they actually could break free. The spheres bounce animatedly about a hot pan, emitting a piercing, shrieking noise as they do so. Both tricks are due to something called the Leidenfrost effect, which describes the instantaneous vaporization that occurs when water touches a hot surface. If enough steam is produced, it can be enough to levitate water droplets above a pan, allowing them to race about without evaporating.
Read the full story at: discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/dancing-balls-lead-to-a-physics-discovery
—
Credit: Waitukaitis, S., Zuiderwijk, A., Souslov, A. et al. Coupling the Leidenfrost effect and elastic deformations to power sustained bouncing. Nature Phys 13, 1095–1099 (2017) doi:10.1038/nphys4194
—
ABOUT DISCOVER:
Discover is your source for science that matters, makes sense and is a lot of fun, too.
Visit us at: discovermagazine.com
FOLLOW US:
Facebook: facebook.com/DiscoverMag
Twitter: twitter.com/DiscoverMag
Instagram: instagram.com/discover.magazine
SUPPORT US:
Subscribe to Discover: bit.ly/34seAFT
Sign up for our newsletter: discovermagazine.com/newsletter-signup
My Science Shop: myscienceshop.com
STAY CURIOUS!
