Figures of Waves: Dyed Water Falling into Clear
A note on revealing water's whirling motions, with two pen sketches of curling waves
A brief methodological note advises that the swirling 'revolutions' of water be studied by letting dark, tinted water fall into clear water so its motion becomes visible. The upper part of the sheet carries two pen-and-ink sketches of curling, breaking wave forms illustrating such turbulent flow. The rest of the leaf is left blank apart from show-through from the facing page.
On this page
Studying water's revolutions with tinted water
The note prescribes an observational technique: to study these whirling motions, one should let dark, tinted (opaque) water fall into clear water. The contrast makes the otherwise invisible eddies and revolutions of the flow visible to the eye.
Two sketches of curling wave forms
Beside and below the note are two rapid pen studies of turbulent water, drawn as tight spiraling curls and breaking crests. They show the kind of revolving surface motion the accompanying text proposes to reveal through dyed water.