Fluid Dynamics KS3 Photography Competition 2022 Winners
Researchers at the University of Leeds invited KS3 school children to get creative and explore the beauty of Fluid Dynamics in a national science photography competition. The students were asked to submit a photograph, a series of photographs, or a video that captured fluid dynamics in action, alongside a brief description. The subject of their photograph may have been something they observed through experimentation or encountered in nature. The entries were judged, and prizes were awarded to the students in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. The winning students, and their accompanying entries, were:
Figure 1: Jessica Hufton's 1st place entry "Bubble and Leak"
First Place: Jessica Hufton (Year 8) from The North Halifax Grammar School submitted a collection of photographs showcasing fluid-dynamic themed experiments performed in the classroom. In an accompanying description Jessica outlined how the different images were created using detergent, oil, food colouring, undiluted paints, and mirrors. Of Jessica’s entry, the judges said it was an "amazing collection of photographs" and "the detailed description made this entry stand out."
Figure 2: Frame from Ila Sharma's video entry "Bubbles"
Second Place: Ila Sharma (Year 7) from The Mountbatten School won second place for the video “Bubbles.” In the accompanying description, Ila says “My video shows hundreds of tiny bubbles being magically illuminated by refraction on the thin, and delicate, surface of the bubbles.” The judges said that "the movement of the thin soap film produces very mesmerising patterns to watch – a really cool demonstration!" and that Ila's description was a "good use of technical Fluid Dynamics vocabulary. A really impressive entry."
Figure 3: An example image from the 3rd place entries, Maryam Haq’s “Green” (left) and Mia Robinson’s “Bubbles” (right)
Third Place: Maryam Haq (Year 7) and Mia Robinson (Year 9), both from The North Halifax Grammar School, were jointly awarded 3rd place in this year’s competition.
Maryam submitted a series of colourful photographs showing how dyes, paint, and ultra-violet light help illuminate different properties of fluids. Maryam investigated how oil droplets float on water, how neon paint sinks in water because it is more dense (above) and how water droplets form on mirrored surfaces. Of Maryam's entry, the judges set it was an "impressive set of photographs" with a "great use of colour".
Mia captured a series of visually dynamic photographs of red water droplets on a mirror and described how the surface tension and cohesive forces cause the dome shape of the droplets. Of Mia's entry, the judges said the photographs captured were "really stunning" and enjoyed the different angles used to "capture the reflections of the droplets through the mirror".