Today we have yet another death of a water balloon. In this particular situation, the balloon was in a gold fish bowl.

Materials
A goldfish bowl.
A water balloon, blue.

Observation
This is an interesting shot. Primarily because the water is contained and cannot escape in the normal manner by which water likes to escape. The water, not being aware that it was trapped in a goldfish bowl, still tries to escape to no avail. Having failed to notice that it failed to escape the water continues about its business of playing with gravity in a not entirely unpleasing manner. The bubbles are neat too.

Materials
A helium balloon filled with water
The standard fare of background materials.

Procedure
Instead of a vertical drop I thought a toss from the side would be interesting.

Result
I do so love it when water balloons distort themselves for our viewing pleasure. This one certainly did not disappoint in that regard. The water balloon can be seen undulating in a very odd fashion prior to its equally odd compression and explosion. The manner in which it hits the ground and compresses creates some very interesting shapes. In particular when it first hits and the top of the balloon (the first part to impact the ground) creates a shape that resembles the crown shape we see on water splashes. This is an excellent candidate for stepping through a frame at a time.

Materials
Pan of white vinegar.
Several drops of green, red, brown and blue food coloring placed randomly around the pan.
A few drops of Pearl Swirl.

Procedure
Drop the fluid from a height of roughly 8″

Result
The Pearl Swirl and the colors really give these splashes an extra kick. The colors provide a nice back drop, in addition to emphasizing the waves. It is interesting to note how the Pearl Swirl appears to clump more in the vinegar than it does in water. That gives it a relatively grainy look as opposed to the normally smooth texture. As always watching the crown form and splash crater fill back in are always interesting. This time the addition of the silver of the uncolored Pearl Swirl adds an additional layer of visual complexity.

Lighting
The lighting rig used here is the same setup for the previous milk splash shots.

Materials
A spinning firework of some kind. In this case I use a really cheap plastic shelled version.

Procedure
Set it in an open spot, light.

Result
The outside of the fuse is covered with a resin or epoxy that burns slower than the fuse it coats creating a simple propulsion device. The curvature of the fuse ensures that the firework spins in a specific manner. The sparks and smoke are both interesting to observe, as is the way the sparks illuminate the smoke as it passes.

Now let us look at the artifacting we see in the video. Specifically there is a carrying over of the brighter pixels on the right side of the screen to the left side. The pixels that are carried over also repeat across the screen in a regular interval. Another interesting artifact we see is the vertical banding on the smoke. I spoke with Nils over at Photron this afternoon in an attempt to figure out what was causing these issues.

After talking with Nils some more the problem was (as I originally thought) user error. The vertical banding is an issue that shows up when you haven’t calibrated the camera after moving to a new lighting condition. In this case I moved from indoors (bright) to the outdoors at night. You should calibrate the camera after doing any of the following; changing the lens, changing shutter speed or filming speed, changing the lighting. This will ensure you get a nice clean image. The repeating artifacting we believe is a lens issue but Nils is looking deeper into that problem. I have to say that I am really impressed with Photron’s technical support. The service has been incredibly fast and Nils was very knowledgeable and helpful. I have to commend Photron’s support, and when you are discussing a camera as expensive as this, good support is a must and they certainly nailed it. Well done Photron.

Materials
Rival Brand Cherry Snow Cone Syrup.
A small stainless steel pan.
Snow cone syrup application bottle.

Procedure
Fill the pan to the halfway point with syrup then use the application bottle to spray additional syrup into the pan.

Result
This shot is a excellent study of the dynamics involved in fluid interaction. The fluid is static before the first drop hits, after that the entire pan is in motion as the drops continue to fall. The crown formation and interruption of formation in this shot is particularly of interest to note. Also note the difference in the splashes that occur directly on the bottom of the pan as opposed to the splashes that occur in the syrup. Not only does it change the height of of the crown but it drastically alters the formation of the splash. As in our other shot with the same fluid, it is interesting to note the refraction (light bending) properties and how that affects the overall look of this shot. Personally I believe that is one of the prime contributors to what makes this shot so compelling.

Materials
The usual background materials
A standard BIC lighter.

Result
The result here is actually rather interesting. You have several different things coming into play. The effect of the pressurized gas on the sparks for one. The Flame itself, the way it reaches up to the previously unlit gas that accumulated above the lighter. More exploding sparks. I am going to look up information on flint today and see what exactly causes this. Flint seems to have a tendency to produce sparks that explode. Finally there is some interesting behavior at the very end of the clip when the gas lever is released.

Materials
The usual background materials
The same aquarium we have been using for the other shots.
Water, 10 gallons.
And some more water to pour into the larger water.

Result
Not much to say here, you can see it all yourself. Its all interesting to look at, though I can’t think of much to say about it that would be interesting to read.