Morphing Particle Rafts

A layer of tiny glass beads sitting atop a pool of castor oil becomes a morphing surface in this video. Applying an electric field creates enough electrostatic force to draw the interface upward against the power of both gravity and surface tension.  (Image and video credit: K. Sun et al.) Read the full article

Liquid water is easily electrically charged, due to its polar nature. That's why rubbing a comb is enough to deflect a stream of water. Ice is harder to charge, but it can happen, especially when there are temperature gradients across the ice. (Image credit: frost - Miriams-Fotos, figure - R. Mukherjee et al.; research credit: R. Mukherjee et al.; via ChemBites; submitted by Kam-Yung Soh)

In this video, Derek Muller explains how an experiment known as Lord Kelvin's thunderstorm generates electricity from falling water. The set-up relies on a positive feedback loop that creates a separation of charge between the two streams of water. Check out the video for a great demonstration and explanation. If you prefer your science with a more dystopian flavor, there's a second version of the video made in collaboration with the Hunger Games movies.  (Video credit: Veritasium; submitted by entropy-perturbation)

Ethanol droplets on a hot copper plate bounce under the influence of electrostatic forces from a charged rod. The temperature of the plate is high enough that the droplet is supported by a thin vapor film, which is what keeps it from wetting the plate.  Ethanol does not have the strong polarity that water does, but the hydroxyl group on one end does make it susceptible to the electrostatic charge built up on the teflon rod.  As a result, the droplets oscillate under electrostatic and gravitational forces, resulting in a dribbling effect. (Video credit: S. Wildeman et al.)