Module 5: Schlieren and Shadowgraph
  Videos
 

 

Here we see a KDP crystal placed over a glass rod within a supersaturated solution of KDP in water. The excess KDP salt adjacent to the crystal deposits on the crystal surface and the salt concentration in the solution momentarily diminishes. Thus, the solution adjacent to the crystal becomes lighter than the rest of the solution and a buoyant plume rises from the corners of the crystal. The crystal is not given any rotation in these experiments.
The plume has been visualized by a color schlieren technique. The bluish‐purple background arises from the blue color of the rainbow filter initially picked up by the light beam, before the start of the experiment.
Compared to video 3, the crystal size is marginally greater, yielding stronger convection currents in the crystal growth chamber. In the absence of crystal rotation, the finite size of the crystal growth chamber ensures that a convection pattern is set‐up in the entire solution. Portions of the fluid move up while, elsewhere, the fluid particles move downwards, thus creating a complete recirculation pattern.