Schlieren Optics

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Demonstration of an optical technique that allows us to see small changes in the index of refraction in air. A point source of light is reflected from a concave mirror and focused onto the edge of a razor blade, which is mounted in front of the camera. Light refracted near the mirror and intercepted by the blade gives the illusion of a shadow.

Seen here are the heated gases from a candle flame and a hair dryer, helium gas, and sulfur hexafluoride gas.

For more information on our setup please see

Note that this version of the setup uses a white LED flashlight instead of an automotive light bulb.

Thanks for watching!
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The first time I ate mushrooms my friend and I were staring up at the sky on a beautiful cloudy day and I could see air being refracted much like what you see here in this Schlieren optic set up. I can finally find a way to describe that moment now. I wonder if I was actually ABLE to see it with my naked eye? If not, I'm sure it was just a hallucination, but it was so vivd and real I could touch it and alter it with my hands and breath. That was 20 years ago.

Widderic
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This is one of the most amazing things I've seen on the internet.Thanks so much for sharing.

mrpandabites
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Thankyou for this elegant demonstration. I had never heard of "Schlieren Optics". It reminds me a bit of the "mirage" effect that occurs when you at a road on a very hot sunny day, and it looks like puddles of water on a road that is actually dry. I'm still thinking about how this effect comes about.

forestpepper
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Some narrative explaining the setup would have been welcome.

baruchben-david
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You should have a conversation in front of it and see how the air from your mouth travels when you say different words.

bearztagger
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July 2023 - OKAY! YOU DEFINITELY have my attention. If I met you in college, I would have changed my major from Electrical Engineering to Optics. Well done demo! Thank you!

Bippy
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The first thing that came to mind was just imagine what the air looks like in a traffic jam in a city on a hot windless day

Alanoffer
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Wow, I could entertain myself for weeks with that setup.

IHateMadeUpNames
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This was perfect and no narration was needed! Really enjoyed watching, thanks so much!

AccendoWorld
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You should totally take the hair dryer back and with a ping-pong ball, show the Venturi effect!

KingRCT
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Seeing the unseen. Awesome demo. Heatwaves and fumes. That's cool.

shaneroper
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I don't understand how it works, and can be so accurate with a so "simple" mounting, but it's just really awesome.

smoker_joe
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"Starring Daniel". That's all.
Btw, this video is truly beautiful, great work!

nonocoollll
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Can you do this with an instrument? Saxophone, clarinet etc

IU
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Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is a greenhouse gas and has a very high radiative forcing effect and a GWP of 22, 800 compared with a figure of 1 for carbon dioxide. Emissions occur due to its use in a small number of applications. Annual emissions have decreased by 67% since 1995.

louisf.jensen
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I would love to see this with musical instruments, especially brass and woodwind types.

SimonCoffman
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I can't stop my self to comment your videos.

salinaajaykumar
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Ignore the naysayers, this technology could revolutionize paragliding, it could well be used in sun glasses or cameras to find Thermals ( columns of hot air) that Gliders, Hanggliders and Paragliders use for gaining altitude. It would revolutionize those 3 sports forever. Keep the good work! 

LaurenMartins
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Amazing! I wonder if this can be used to visualize air flow around an aircraft during wind tunnel testing. 

aviationyyz
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That's really cool, the effect looks almost magical :)

mjk