Posted by
gregdodge

The Anatomy of a water drip, sort of.

While watching the mergansers enjoy themselves in the rain last week I happened to notice a steady stream of water dripping off one of the large green umbrellas on the Main Wetlands Overlook. The water dripped into the water a foot or so from the platform. I decided to try and capture the various stages of the drip hitting the water; a crown forming, the water rising up from the surface and then collapsing down on itself. I didn’t get a complete picture of what occurs when a drop of water hits the surface of a pond, but I came close.

Here’s the results:

A water drip hits the surface (there’s actually two drops here).
A “crown” forms at the point of impact.
The “crown” closes.
A column of water begins to rise up from the surface.

Here’s where I would like to have gotten one more shot. The water column can rise an inch or two from the surface.

After reaching a certain height above the water’s surface (depending upon the size of the drop of water) the column of water collapses on itself.
Concentric rings of water radiate from the splash and the point of impact begins to flatten, awaiting another drop from above.

Although I took dozens of photos using a flash, I was unable to get the one shot to complete the series, the one with the column of water at its apex. No excuses, that’s just the way it was. I had to go off and perform other duties.

Anyone know when it’s supposed to rain again?

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