The Water Flower
Every few months or so, some awesome flow visualization makes its way into mainstream culture. The latest is the “water flower.”
The “water flower” is the result of a very large droplet, released by the popping of a water balloon, falling through a kitchen strainer. Visualizations such as these fall into the ASMR category for me. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and is most often triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli that cause a tingling sensation that usually beings at the top of your head and spreads down your body.
Personally, as a fluid dynamics guy, I could watch flow visualizations over and over and over, and they never get old.
As of late, ASMR is commonly used in the titles of many You Tube videos that are created specifically for people to watch as a form of relaxation to wind down before bed or to calm anxiety during the day. Some people may choose to watch reruns of Bob Ross’s The Joy of Painting, others may choose to scroll through Instagram and play slime videos, and some might prefer to watch a storyteller whispering in a different language.
Personally, as a fluid dynamics guy, I could watch flow visualizations over and over and over, and they never get old. What’s even better than that, is when these flow visualizations connect with my work as a CFD engineer. So when it came to this “water flower,” It was nice to see a STAR-CCM+ based simulation from Gabriel Paternoster at Siemens follow soon thereafter. I’d say the simulation did a pretty good job of matching reality, considering the unknowable inputs of the specific balloon and strainer geometries.
Now, take a minute to watch the videos side by side with the volume up, and see what I mean by positive vibes. If you need me, I’ll be over here relaxing.
