Case closed: MIT gumshoes solve 'throbbing' oil mystery

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Professors Roman Stocker left and John Bush display a mixture of oil detergent and water. Their research explains what happens when an oil drop containing a water-insoluble surfactant is placed on a water surface. Photo: Donna Coveney
Professors Roman Stocker, left, and John Bush display a mixture of oil, detergent and water. Their research explains what happens when an oil drop containing a water-insoluble surfactant is placed on a water surface. Photo: Donna Coveney

Hey kids! Try this at home. Pour clean water onto a small plate. Wait for all the ripples to stop. Then mix a small amount of mineral oil with an even smaller amount of detergent. Squeeze a tiny drop of that mixture onto the water and watch in amazement as the oil appears to pump like a beating heart.


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All News summaries for July 17, 2007
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