Mastodawn

LeidenForce 3m ago

LeidenForce quiz of the day: can you solve our Fake or Fact?

In our Fake or Fact series, we test your science knowledge about the Leidenfrost effect!

#Acetone #leidenfrosteffect #volatileliquids #ThermalPhysics #fluiddynamics

LeidenForce 16h ago

How does science decide what is “validated”?

Peer review, replication, debate… Scientific knowledge is not a fixed truth but a process. This article explores how results are tested, challenged, and sometimes overturned. A useful reminder that doubt is part of science.

🔗 https://www.pourlascience.fr/sr/regards/les-tribulations-de-la-validation-scientifique-28834.php

#Science #Research #PeerReview #Reproducibility #ScientificMethod

LeidenForce 22h ago

Smaller jet-to-plate distances intensify turbulence in swirl jets, highlighting how impingement geometry controls flow patterns. Key insights for heat management and surface-fluid interaction studies.

🔗 https://pubs.aip.org/aip/pof/article-abstract/38/2/025138/3380440/On-the-flow-topology-and-mean-flow-characteristics?redirectedFrom=fulltext

#fluidmechanics #heattransfer #SwirlJets #turbulence #FlowTopology

LeidenForce 23h ago

LAB CHRONICLE #26
– Shoot cancelled –

Scenario: caffeinated Leidenfrost demo.
Ambition: Nobel Prize (or just a viral post).
Reality: smell of burnt coffee, empty fire extinguisher, not a single gram of coffee left.

Conclusion:
Science also means knowing when to stop filming, right before the smoke ruins the shot.
But more importantly, it's realizing too late that we sacrificed all the coffee… for that.

#BehindTheExperiment #CoffeeSacrifice #NobelDreams #ChaosUnderControl #LabLife

LeidenForce 1d ago

Simulations show two droplets hitting a micro‑structured hydrophobic surface bounce differently depending on spacing and angle. This dynamic is useful for surface engineering.

🔗 https://pubs.aip.org/aip/pof/article-abstract/38/2/027133/3380441/Dynamics-of-double-droplet-centered-impacting-a

#dropletimpact #hydrophobic #leidenfrosteffect #fluidmechanics #microstructure

LeidenForce 2d ago

In the 1800s, science struggled to find its place in schools. Mostly theoretical and minor, practical lessons were often optional and competed with sports.

🔗 https://www.nature.com/articles/013311a0

#EducationHistory #STEM #physics #HandsOnScience #learning

Physical Science in Schools - Nature

THE struggle which Physical Science has had to obtain a footing amongst the regular subjects of the school curriculum has not been altogether in vain, and the study of science now occupies a conspicuous place in the prospectus, at any rate, of many of our schools. But to those who, being behind the scenes, are acquainted with the real facts, the position which science occupies amongst other subjects, with a few honourable exceptions, is insignificant in the extreme. It is admitted as an axiom by all science teachers, that if the study of science is to be of any value, the student must, in some part at least of his work, be brought face to face with the facts of nature, and that unless this be the case the introduction of the subject into the school course is worse than useless; but how commonly does the so-called science-work of a school consist simply in the acquisition of so much “useful knowledge?” And even when in other respects the teaching is fairly satisfactory, the practical work is too often optional—an “extra,” or taken on half-holidays, and so ruined by the competition of cricket and football.

Nature

LeidenForce 3d ago

- Wetting dynamics: how droplets spread -

The speed and shape of droplet spreading depend on wetting dynamics.

Discover it in this video from the "Dynamics of fluid interfaces" MOOC by ESPCI Paris - PSL.

🎥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3gcJXDVjZU&list=PLcbz7zf4dTyk9BqlBPLpgI48i9TiorpEi&index=14

#WettingDynamics #LeidenfrostEffect #FluidPhysics #MOOC #FluidDynamics

4.3 Capillarity and viscosity - Wetting dynamics

YouTube

LeidenForce 5d ago

Scientists’ engagement on social media to share science and fight misinformation is crucial. Gen Z & α often get their info there, making this work essential despite the effort.
🔗 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00472-5

#ScienceCommunication #SocialMedia #Misinformation #PublicEngagement #STEM

The science influencers going viral on TikTok to fight misinformation

Scientists and medical experts are countering climate denialism, vaccine scepticism and wellness pseudoscience on social media.

LeidenForce Mar 5

New high-speed videos show that side-by-side droplets in a fast airflow fragment in predictable ways: they form sacs, stretch into threads, or even merge depending on their spacing.

A phase diagram captures these transitions.

🔗 https://journals.aps.org/prfluids/abstract/10.1103/5398-z2gf

#FluidDynamics #DropletPhysics #HighSpeedImaging #Atomization #SprayScience

LeidenForce Mar 4

As the line between science and policy sharpens in many countries, Nature highlights the importance of supporting exploratory science as a driver of long-term innovation.

🔗 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00469-0

#CuriosityDriven #Innovation #FundamentalScience #ResearchFunding #SciencePolicy

Don’t deprioritize curiosity-driven research

Around the world, governments are demanding that research funding follow broader political priorities. They should be careful what they wish for.

Leidenfrost Effect	Horizon Europe
Physics	MSCA
Droplets	Experiment
Research	PhD