Last year, Ultraslo trained a high speed Phantom Mira camera on a wasp nest without really knowing what the inhabitants were doing.
The sequence was shot at 4700 frames per second and played back at 30fps, whereupon it became clear that the wasps were not only carrying water back to the nest but also cooling it with their wingbeats.
It’s called the Leidenfrost Effect, whereby the ball surrounds itself with a blanket of steam that keeps the rest of the water away. Eventually, the ball cools to the point where the steam jacket can’t be maintained, at which point, well, you’ll see.
It’s the same effect that allows liquid nitrogen to skitter across a floor, drops of water to cascade around a hot pan or a wet finger to be momentarily dipped in boiling lead without injury.
