Thanks to Newton, we are all well-aware of the gravitational effect and how it pulls everything towards the center of the Earth. It is the main force which dictates the downward movement of all the material objects.
Similarly, water falls downward per the gravitational force of attraction. However, the universal liquid depicts an interesting behavior when poured into the fountain designed by the London designer Arthur Carabott. The water begins to flow in impossibly straight paths in the liquid-resistant fountain.
Carabott ingeniously used a superhydrophobic coating on laser-cut acrylic sheets to pull off this effect. The superhydrophobic coating dictates the flow of water. The superhydrophobic or the ultra-hydrophobic surfaces are extremely resistant to water. Their extreme hydrophobic nature forces the droplets to bulge and assume a spherical shape. The superhydrophobic coating can be sprayed onto any surface. It creates a nanoscopic layer which is dirt and water repellent.
Carabot observed that the Rust-oleum NeverWet Multisurface coating forced the water to rearrange itself in narrow streams, while moving at a faster pace. To observe the varying water flow patterns, he left some of the surfaces untreated.
A 3D printed spout holder was used to eject water onto the horizontal surface of the fountain. The water assumes the shape of spherical droplets that ultimately grow larger and from narrow streams. The cascade collects in the pool at the base as the streams fall onto the two angular plates at the lower end.
Carabott is proud of his creation and explained his idea:
“The fountain creates surprise by playing with our expectations of how water moves. [It is] inspired by the Japanese mathematician Kokichi Sugihara’s optical illusions that interpret Escher-like two-dimensional line drawings into three-dimensional objects to create motions that appear impossible.”
Carabott’s design of the Superhydrophobic Fountain is the result of a 3D workshop conducted by the architect Jay Levy at the Pratt Institute in New York. He presented his creation at the Work-In-Progress show at the London’s Royal College of Art.
Carabott has previously worked on the Asif Khan and Pernilla Ohrstedt’s Coca-Cola Beatbox Pavilion during the London Olympics 2012, Radiant Lines for Melbourne’s Federation Square, and MegaFaces for the Sochi Winter Olympics.