Rheoscopic fluid means "current showing" fluid. Such liquids are effective in visualizing dynamic currents in fluids, such as
convection
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...
and
laminar flow
In fluid dynamics, laminar flow is characterized by fluid particles following smooth paths in layers, with each layer moving smoothly past the adjacent layers with little or no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral mi ...
. They are microscopic
crystalline
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...
platelets
Platelets, also called thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος, "clot" and κύτος, "cell"), are a component of blood whose function (along with the coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping, thereby ini ...
such as
mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...
, metallic flakes, or fish scales in suspension in a fluid such as
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
or
glycol stearate
Glycol stearate (glycol monostearate or ethylene glycol monostearate) is an organic compound with the molecular formula C20H40O3. It is the ester of stearic acid and ethylene glycol. It is used as an ingredient in many types of personal care p ...
.
When the fluid is put in motion, the suspended particles orient themselves in localized,
preferential alignment, larger parts of the fluid moving sheer parallel to other parts of the fluid. With appropriate
illumination, the particle-filled fluid will reflect differing intensities of light.
*
Kalliroscope
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Reynolds number
In fluid mechanics, the Reynolds number () is a dimensionless quantity that helps predict fluid flow patterns in different situations by measuring the ratio between inertial and viscous forces. At low Reynolds numbers, flows tend to be domi ...
External links
University of Chicago Materials Research Centre DemonstrationInstructables: Making Rheoscopic fluid
Fluid dynamics
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