To watch a droplet hit a surface and detect if there is any air between the drop and surface, the researchers used a technique called total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM).

In a double rainbow, however, a second reflection of light occurs within the water droplet. This additional reflection results in the formation of a secondary, fainter rainbow outside the primary one.

Inside the water droplet, the light is reflected off the inner surface. This internal reflection causes the light to exit the droplet at a different angle, breaking the light into its full ...

Blooming gorgeous! Extraordinary images reveal reflections of flowers - and even a dog - captured inside tiny water droplets. The photos were taken by French photographer Bertrand Kulik in his ...

The secondary rainbow is caused by a second reflection inside the droplet, and this “re-reflected” light exits the drop at a different angle (50° instead of 42° for the red primary bow).

Secondary rainbows are fainter, too, since some of the light leaks out of the water droplet during the extra reflection and is lost to the air outside. Curious about the dark, ...

A Leidenfrost droplet and its reflection over time, as the droplet shrinks down and flies away. If you watch a skittering water droplet in slow motion, you'll realize there's one more puzzle---why do ...

The droplet of water is sitting on a superhydrophobic surface, pinned down by two wire loops. The knife is also superhydrophobic. When it’s lowered down onto the droplets, they split apart into ...

Normally when a water droplet hits a plain surface, it immediately recoils straight up. But in this case, the drops bounce right or left, or they spiral, depending on the pattern of the plate.