We are far from understanding everything about how water interacts with the world. When water encounters chemicals, sound waves, animals and planets, the results can be surprising. Here are nine water videos that will change how you think about water.
1. Water + food coloring = dancing droplets
When you mix food coloring with drops of water, the droplets can move and react to each other almost like living things. Researchers at Stanford University have now found out why.
2. Water + dirt = the smell of rain
The human nose can detect more than a trillion different scents, including rain. Find out how rain releases something called petrichor, and how it triggers fish to spawn.
3. Water + sound waves = levitation
Think only Harry Potter can make things float? Researchers at Clemson University have figured out how to use sound waves to levitate a drop of water, and how to use different frequencies to turn it into star shapes. They hope the discovery will lead to new ways to remove pollution from the air.
4. Water + bioplastic = self-healing
Fixing broken things can be costly and time consuming. Researchers at Penn State have developed a plastic that can heal itself simply by adding a drop of water. They hope it may someday extend the life of medical implants and fiber-optic cables.
5. Water + hunter = a difficult dinner to catch
But how does water affect bigger things, like a man diving down 20 meters in the ocean with no scuba gear to catch a fish? Watch this Bajau fisherman in the Philippines push the limits of what we think is possible. One of our favorite water videos!
6. Water + wolves = a changed landscape
When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, their presence there eventually changed the course of rivers. This fascinating process, where a change to the top of the food chain affects the entire ecosystem, is called a trophic cascade.
7. Water + whales = a changed climate
As the number of whales have decreased in the ocean, so has the number of fish and krill. Research now shows that whales not only eat these animals, they also keep them alive, and in a process that can change the entire climate of the world.
8. Water + Mars = toxic mud, and maybe life?
NASA announced in September 2015 that they have discovered liquid water flowing on Mars. This water creates a briny, toxic mud that may hold life unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
9. Mars + a stranded astronaut = water
In the movie The Martian, actor Matt Damon – playing an astronaut stranded on Mars – creates water using hydrogen, oxygen and the equipment in his lab. The movie was primarily based on real science. This video shows you how to make water, in case you ever get left behind on the Red Planet. Note: this process can also make things explode.
We hope you enjoyed these water videos! Thanks for watching.