water | Water Calendar

The power of water

Clouds glowing at night — Water in the sky (clouds) reflecting the power from the sun that feeds us all. Sunset at Fredensborg, Sweden. Photo: Lasse Johansson

“It is junk science”, their adversaries would say. And with a decision ruled beforehand, there was really no need to examine all the intricacies in detail. The electrochemists Martin Fleischmann (1927-2012) and Stanley Pons (1943-) had, in a long series of experiments, observed heat production from electrolysis of heavy water with a special electrode made of palladium. The energy released far exceeded the electrical energy that was put into the experiment. Having examined possible sources of the energy, they had come to the conclusion that a nuclear reaction was going on, and the effect was dubbed “cold fusion” – an effect promising clean and unlimited energy from water. Continue reading The power of water

The artist’s water

The undulating water mirror — Reflections in an undulating water surface, stretching in the vertical direction. Slussen, Orust island, at the west coast of Sweden.
Photos and illustrations: Lasse Johansson

Like a painting, the water surface shimmers. Its low undulating forms, just slightly curved, one in front of another, has been shaped by the wind or a passing boat, and the water surface comes to life. Like the memory filtering an artist’s impression, the water surface has its own way of filtering our impressions, the image of the land reflected across the bay appears fuzzy and smeared out. Continue reading The artist’s water

The dancing plumes

Dancing plumes from irrigation sprinkler — Plumes of water emerging from an irrigation sprinkler. Lärjedalen gardens, outside Gothenburg, Sweden.
Photo: Lasse Johansson

Swish, swish, swish, I have to run to escape the plumes of water cascading round and round over the small field. Innumerable water droplets journey together, upwards, upwards, then turning, falling, dissolving into a cloud of rain. Down below, the garden plants gratefully receive the life-giving water drops, capturing the droplets with their leaves. Some droplets continue, trickling down onto the bare umber soil underneath, wetting the soil and darkening it. Seeking its way into the hollows, seeping down, absorbed by the clayey, colloid substance that forms the fertile topsoil. Continue reading The dancing plumes

The natural flowform

Natural flowforms in the river Sjoa — Natural flowforms in a small side stream beside the main current of river Sjoa. Over time, water has carved the rounded forms, aided by the occasional boulder. Here they express a rhythm of their own, with water dancing from pond to pond. Sjoa, Norway. Photo: Dag Birkeland

Powerful, the mass of water is rushing past me, a white blueish foaming torrent. Confined between the towering stone walls in the gorge, the river here has acquired a relentless quality, thrusting forward unstoppable.

Making sure that I stand on firm ground, I observe it. Falling into the deep river here, one would be lost, immediately being taken into the depths by the strong fraying currents. Here a man’s power matters little. Continue reading The natural flowform

Water’s pulse

“Malmö” model flowforms in Warmonderhof, the Netherlands. Photo: Hans van Sluis

Swish, swoosh, swish, swoosh, in a rhythmic pattern, the water swings to and fro in the vessel, a “flowform”, originally conceived by the British anthroposophist John Wilkes (1930-2011) in 1970 and since then developed into many shapes.

The incoming water flow, and the curved heart-shaped walls create the right conditions for a rhythmic flow to spontaneously emerge, to self-organize – a cooperative behaviour, which springs out naturally, effortlessly, from the conditions. The water molecules dance together. From vessel to vessel the dance continues, until the water reaches the pond below. Standing by the stair of flowforms, listening to the pulsating sound, it is as if it radiates tranquillity – a wild brook carved in stone. Continue reading Water’s pulse

The rising seas

The dramatic coastline of Slussen — The dramatic coastline of the isles seems to rise just out of the sea. Slussen, Orust island, at the west coast of Sweden. Photo: Lasse Johansson

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the water level rises. Where are we actually heading? What is the attractor of our present course? Where will we be, when water finds its new level?

Our actions are like a small marble, rolling down a slope, along a ridge, on its way to a new state. Will it be a state where the Arctic ice has melted, where its albedo, its ability to reflect light, has changed from that of white ice to dark water, no longer reflecting most of the light back into the sky? Will it be a state where the methane deposits of the Siberian tundra have molten and evaporated? Where the ice of Greenland has melted? Continue reading The rising seas

The water jet dances

The dancing water jet — As the up-going flow bumps into the down-going, it starts to twist and bend. Botanical garden, Gothenburg, Sweden. Photo(s): Lasse Johansson

The jet of water ejects out of the nozzle in a continuous, steady flow. Directing my eyes towards the opening, there is not a trace of pulsation.

Yet just slightly above, the dance has begun. As the upward movement is gradually lost, the water jet starts to twist and bend, like a rubber band being pushed.

Then it turns around and sweeps down, now on this side, now on that, now hitting the up going flow and, for a moment, almost extinguishing it, and then it moves on again, unpredictable. Never at rest, oscillating, yet not repeating itself – its aperiodic undulations never reveal what is next to come. Continue reading The water jet dances

Ink droplets falling in water

Umbrella shaped ink droplet — Slowly sinking umbrella shaped ink droplet, like a primitive octopus. Photo(s): Lasse Johansson

Water’s inherent tendency to form patterns can be observed as simple as with ink droplets falling into water (preferably in a container with flat walls). The impact of the droplet creates vaulting toroidal forms, vortexes resembling jellyfish, and finally, when the motion slows down, settles into sinking octopus-like forms.

Studying and looking at the flow patterns can be really captivating. I once tried this experiment with children in kindergarten, who were amazed, and would stand dripping ink into the water for more than half an hour. Continue reading Ink droplets falling in water

Self-organization

Self-organizing sand-water rolls — Sand-water rolls self-organizing in the receding
stream. Agadir, Morocco. Photo: Lasse Johansson

Self-organizing, seemingly out of nothing, the sand-water rolls appear. Where did they come from? The moment before, when the incoming stream reached its highest level and turned, there was only a flat surface of murky water.

Self-organization means the spontaneous formation of a macroscopic structure, an order for free, as it were, emerging when the effects of the individuals, e.g. the movement of water molecules, start to interlock and add up, forming a new complexity. When the conditions are right, self-organization occurs, spontaneously, like a vortex forming in a bath tub. Continue reading Self-organization