[jkforde]

Hi,

I've noticed rapid surface fracturing & wave-like transition patterns on the surface of very hot black tea when the surface of the tea is viewed in direct reflected light.

There seems to be a layer of rapidly cooling & evaporating liquid on the surface that changes pattern & fractures with a rapid wave-like transition. It reminds me of the beautiful BZ reaction. Is there any link at the physics level?

Thanks a lot,
John

[RD]

I don’t drink black tea, but I have noticed black coffee has a oil film floating on it.
Convection in the hot liquid could cause Bénard convection cells made visible by changes in the oil film.



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/B%C3%A9nard_cells_convection.ogv


Bénard convection cells are a somewhat similar to Belousov-Zhabotinsky patterns ...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBa4kgXI4Cg#t=44s

[jkforde]

thanks a lot for the replies folks but I don't reckon it's convection cells that I'm seeing, I'll try to get a pic or vid of what I'm talking about..... tbc!

.... update... see a vid here: http://db.tt/78og8m6R

[RD]

.... update... see a vid here: http://db.tt/78og8m6R

looks like vapour vortexes (mini whirlwinds ) are breaking through the oil film, which then heals up rapidly erasing their trail, unlike the dust devil trails on mars which last a bit longer ...