A Ripple in LightJoshua KimAward: Top 100
School: germantown friends school At first glance, this photo appears almost cosmic, resembling a vortex or distant nebula in space. However this photo was created with a simple setup: a bowl of water, a bright computer light, and a CD. The photo was taken when a single droplet hit the water creating a ripple that distorted the reflected light into a swirling pattern. To explain this effect, the CD first creates the color through diffraction from its microscopic grooves. These grooves cause light waves to interfere with each other resulting in differing wavelengths of light which appear as different colors. The bright computer light was the main source of the light waves shined onto the CD. The water acts as optical surface, where light is reflected and refracted. The small setup creates an otherworldly sight through simple manipulation in light, displaying how physics is involved in the complex structures that emerge from simple interactions. 
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