Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Time-lapse video of a drop of NaHCO3 solution evaporating and crystallizing under ambient conditions. The drop rests on a horizontal glass surface. The field of view is 1.34 cm wide, and the real-time duration of the movie is 31 minutes. During the onset of crystallization, the autofocus shifts from the nearly featureless background to the developing deposit layer.
If the drop is mixed with tap water, subtle changes in the fingerprint-like pattern allow the determination of water hardness. For details, see our 2025 paper in Environ. Sci. Technol.: doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c05770
Time-lapse video of a drop of NaHCO3 solution evaporating and crystallizing under ambient conditions. The drop rests on a horizontal glass surface. The field of view is 1.34 cm wide, and the real-time duration of the movie is 31 minutes. During the onset of crystallization, the autofocus shifts from the nearly featureless background to the developing deposit layer.
If the drop is mixed with tap water, subtle changes in the fingerprint-like pattern allow the determination of water hardness. For details, see our 2025 paper in Environ. Sci. Technol.: doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c05770
