1900 A.M. Worthington Splash

Unveiling the unseen: liquid dynamics frozen through early spark photography.

In 1900, A.M. Worthington captured the motion of a liquid splash using high-speed photography, a technique built on his earlier illustrations made by observing splashes under short-duration electric sparks. Before using photography, Worthington would repeatedly observe these transient events in darkness, refining his sketches to capture the key elements. His images, developed from this precise method, revealed intricate forces at play in liquid motion, such as surface tension and impact dynamics.

Worthington’s high-speed photography, synchronized with an electrical spark, allowed him to freeze fleeting moments in a way previously unattainable. His work not only laid the foundation for advancements in photographic technology but also influenced scientific fields like physics and engineering. Worthington's ability to combine artistic and scientific approaches, especially as an accomplished illustrator and photographer, demonstrated the powerful role of aesthetics in scientific exploration.

Credit: Arthur Mason Worthington, The National Media Museum, Bradford
Author: Arthur Mason Worthington
Title: Enlarged Spark Photograph of Splash Caused by Stone Sphere
Date: 1900
Archive: The National Media Museum, Bradford
Source: Science Museum Group. Enlarged Spark Photograph of Splash Caused by Stone Sphere. 1956-224 Science Museum Group Collection Online. Accessed 12 September 2024.
Original file: 1,652 × 2,142 pixels, file size: 708 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg
Available information: Enlarged spark photograph of splash caused by stone sphere, smooth on one side, rough on the other, by Arthur Mason Worthington, FRS, circa 1900. © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Image credit: Pages from: “The Splash of a Drop” by Worthington, A. M. (Arthur Mason), 1852-1916, Publication date 1895, Collection gerstein; toronto, Internet Archive; https://archive.org/details/splashofdrop00wortuoft/page/36/mode/2up

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