Jesse Belden
Naval Undersea Warfare Center
Newport, Rhode island

Tadd T. Truscott
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Splash Lab
Brigham Young University,
Provo, Utah

Air bubbles near a plunging jet of water

Filling a glass of water: monotonous and mundane or multitudinous and magnificent? To the naked eye, the plunging jet of water shown in this picture resembles that spouting from an ordinary kitchen sink. When stopped in time, however, wave-like instabilities are observed on the surprisingly rough jet surface.

Upon impact with a tank of water, the ripples cause cavities of air to form, which are pinched-off beneath the surface as shown in the photograph. Packets of air are entrained, deformed and ultimately broken up by the high momentum jet as they descend into the tank. On either side of the jet, bubbles of more customary shape are seen rising to the surface having escaped the influence of the high speed fluid.

Related Abstract

  Bubble Fields in 3D (No Glasses Necessary)

Reporters and Editors

This image can be freely reproduced with the accompanying credit: "Jesse Belden (NUWC) and Tadd T. Truscott (BYU)."