The Kaye Effect is a property of complex liquids that can be puzzling the first time you notice it. This effect, which can turn a falling liquid jet into one that rises to meet it, was first described in 1963 by the British Arthur Kaye. Many everyday liquids, such as hand soaps, shampoos, and liquid paint, possess this property.
Liquids, which often seem so simple and familiar, possess extraordinary properties. We have talked about ferrofluids and how cornstarch (corn flour) allows such strange things as walking on top without sinking. But there is more, much more. Some common liquids, like shampoo or paint, have all the necessary characteristics to leave you speechless.
The Science Behind the Effect
Indeed, most viscous liquids—a fairly broad category that includes things as diverse as honey, blood, and mineral oils—"suffer" from the so-called Kaye Effect. Arthur Kaye discovered in 1963 that when one of these substances falls into a container, it tends to form a kind of column because the speed at which liquid is added is greater than the speed at which it spreads across the bottom of the container due to its high viscosity.
At some point, and for very short periods of time (less than a third of a second), concavities form within that column, causing the falling liquid jet to deflect upward again.
As more liquid is poured, this rising jet becomes more and more vertical until—inevitably—it collides with the falling one. At that moment, everything returns to "normality" and the cycle begins again.
The short duration of this phenomenon often makes it go unnoticed, but by filming the event with a high speed camera—as in the videos accompanying this article—you can appreciate the beauty behind the chaos.
