Water is one of the most interesting substances on the planet. It is malleable, taking on the shape of whatever container it is in. It can bubble and flow gently or rage on in rapids and waterfalls. Water is a cleanser but it can also destroy something in its path, both inviting and dangerous. There’s a lot you can do to and with this life-giving substance, but you really cannot cut it. Or, maybe you can. That’s exactly what a scientist does with a few special tools at his disposal.
The Action Lab Shorts video clip, which we learned about via Digg, is short and simple. The narrator puts a few drops of regular water on hydrophobic paper between what appears to be two paper clip items. He uses a superhydrophobic knife to slice the large droplet in half. It’s rather mind-boggling and also a bit hard to see considering the water is clear and on white paper.
So, the video shows him doing it once again, this time with green dye in the water. And, surely enough, the liquid splits in half. The video ends with him slicing droplets over and over again as they skirt along the paper. Eventually, the droplets are too small to divide up anymore. Those tiny, perfect spheres will either soothe you or make you feel super uncomfortable.
This YouTube page does a lot of cool and super short videos, many of them featuring water. For example, there are videos of people drawing on water, pouring square-shaped water, and even creating water that is repellant to itself.
Action Lab Shorts/YouTube
And, of course, there are always clips of what happens when you put certain things in water like Skittles. This all seems a little too powerful yet super interesting. Either way, this clip is just long enough to serve as your latest distraction from actual work. Now, go back to your regularly scheduled program.