Make a cheap, high-tech nozzle to eliminate turbulence and
create incredible water effects. By Larry Cotton and Phil Bowie
Laminar-flow water charms and fascinates. It behaves quite
differently from ordinary turbulent water, such as the flow from
a faucet or garden hose. A laminar stream is so perfect it could
pass for a glass rod. It doesn’t splash upon hitting a surface,
it will conduct light like a fiber-optic cable, and it’s so
cohesive, it will enwrap and levitate a smooth sphere, even at a
surprising angle to the vertical. In 2011, we drove 600 miles
from our North Carolina homes to Disney’s Epcot theme park to
study the “Leap Frog” fountain, which chops a laminar stream
into arcs, creating impish, cavorting water creatures. We’ve
been obsessed with laminar flow phenomena ever since, joining an
online cult of experimenters. We have achieved laminar flow
simply and inexpensively by making a nozzle from a big plastic
peanut butter jar, scrub pads, drinking straws, and standard PVC
pipe and hose fittings.