This is my third installation of mixing art and science after 'The bubble lightbulb' and 'Disambiguation'. There are likely many more. Art explores the science of surface tension in a vastly different ways than scientists think.
Solace exploits the effect of gravity on soap films. Soap films are mixture of glycerol and water so they have their properties of surface tension, viscosity and light refraction differ than just regular water. With Solace the Dutch artist Nicky Assman made a mechanical arm that dips into soap making a wall. The result? A soap mirror so you can see your reflection in a dynamic film for a few seconds before it goes away. Gravity and other physical factors affect the swirling patterns in the film with different amount of light refraction off the film as water is pulled down more quickly than the rest of the soap. The arm lowers and the film disappears into oblivion. Check out her video below.
