Gallery

A Candle in Still Air

This schlieren image shows the plume of hot air rising from a lit candle in still air..

Shane Fitzgerald and Dr Jim Bales

A Candle in the Wind

The plume of hot air from a lit candle is disrupted by air currents

Shane Fitzgerald and Dr Jim Bales

A Sparker Seen in Schlieren

Sparks fly and hot air rises from a lit sparkler

Kim Vandiver and Harold Edgerton

A Splash of Milk

Aerial View of MIT at Night

Prof. Harold Edgerton

Bullet and Crayons

Andrew Sorenson and Nick Venanzi

Bullet and Lipstick

This photo of a bullet passing through lipstick was taken in 6.163, Strobe Project Laboratory.

Jennifer L. Wang, Yi Yang, and Irene Zhou

Bullet and Peanut Butter Cups

J Bales, KC Bronner, M Andrews

Bullet breaking colored chalk 2

A .22 caliber bullet breaks four sticks of colored chalk

James W. Bales and Seth Riskin

Bullet Splash Formation

Candle Wick

This Schlieren image of a lit candle in still air shows the edges (red and green) of the column of hot air rising from the candle. The colors on the top (blue) and bottom (yellow) of the wick show that it is colder than the air surrounding it.

Shane Fitzgerald and Dr Jim Bales

Card Trick

Prof. Harold Edgerton

Chalk Impact (1 of 5)

A .22 caliber bullet is just entering a piece of chalk

Cece Chu and Lani Lee

Chalk Impact (2 of 5)

A .22 caliber bullet is just exiting a piece of chalk

Cece Chu and Lani Lee

Chalk Impact (3 of 5)

A .22 caliber bullet is embedded in the debris cloud from the chalk it has just exited

Cece Chu and Lani Lee

Chalk Impact (4 of 5)

Approximately 1/20,000th sec after being hit with a bullet, the top of the chalk has begun to move appreciably, and cracks have formed lower down its length

Cece Chu and Lani Lee

Chalk Impact (5 of 5)

Now clear of the debris cloud, the supersonic bullet still carries supersonic shards of chalk on its nose

Cece Chu and Lani Lee

Colliding Paintballs

Students in 6.163, Strobe Project Lab, captured this image of two paintballs that had collided in mid-air

Jessica Adams, Marina Zhang, Alexis Vivar, and Janice Chui

Cutting a Card Quickly

Prof. Harold Edgerton

Dancer

A multiflash photo of a spinning dancer, taken in 6.162, Strobe Project Laboratory

Maya Koneval and Katherine Yang