2014 Small World In Motion Competition

Time-lapse of caffeine crystallization

Dr. Douglas Clark

Affiliation
Paedia Corporation
San Francisco, California, USA
Technique
Polarized Light

Time-lapse of crystals forming in a single drop of a saturated solution of caffeine in water (actual time of 20 minutes compressed into 40 seconds).

The development of the zebrafish lateral line, the organ that senses water movements in the fish.

Dr. Mariana Muzzopappa Jim Swoger

Affiliation
Institute for Research in Biomedicine Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Technique

4D SPIM (Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy)

Developing zebrafish lateral line (a sensory organ analogous to the mammalian inner ear that senses water movements in the fish). This organ develops from a primordium that starts migrating and deposits a group of cells called neuromasts, that contain mechanosensory hair cells and support cells. A combination of transgenic lines was used to label undifferentiated and support cells (membrane Tomato) and track hair cell development (cytoplasmic GFP) for 36 hrs.

Oil film floating on water

Dr. John Hart

Affiliation
University of Colorado Boulder
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Boulder, Colorado, USA
Technique
Reflected Light Differential Interference Contrast (Nomarski)
Magnification
12.5x

Thin film of volatile oil floating on a water surface.  Evaporation occurs in isolated pools a few microns deep.  Flow instabilities at the edges bring oil into the centers of the pools, forming droplets.  Coalescence leads to bigger drops that have more volume per unit of surface area, and slower evaporation.  Interference colors dramatize the motions.  The complex microscopic fluid dynamics are relevant to the longevity of fuel spills.