This is a sequence of photographs taken of a red ink droplet penetrating the surface of water. The series of pictures can be described as follows:
Pictures 1-6 - blank
Picture 7 - droplet is falling
Picture 8 - the merging of the two surfaces of liquids, the format of the ‘crown’ of droplets as the surface invaginates
Picture 9 - the blending of the two liquids at surface contact points followed by the invagination of the water’s surface to a maximum depth caused by the inertia of the droplet
Pictures 10 and 11 - the recoil (evagination) of the droplet caused by the water’s elasticity (surface tension)
Picture 12 - the separation of the droplet from the column
Pictures 13 and 14 - the second falling of the droplet and the dispersion of ink
The energy of the original falling drop determines the maximum depth of the invagination, the size of the crown, and the height of the recoil. The process did not repeat in this sequence of pictures because the energy was transferred into waves on the surface of thewater.

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Stephen Chan
St. Elizabeth Catholic High School, Richmond Hill, Ontario
2nd Prize ( HS Individual Category )

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