It's Brady!

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Landslide Falls

Andrew and I went hiking to Jones Gap Falls, which is located just west of Jones Gap State Park. The trail was fairly easy until we got to the bridge across the Middle Saluda River. "Trail Closed" a sign warned. We crossed the bridge and continued on unaware of what we would see. Pictures of the Jones Gap landslide had done it no justice. A giant gash was carved out of the hillside as high and as low as we could see. Giant rocks and large trees were strewn about like tinkertoys in a child's room.
We proceeded to cross and continue on to Jones Gap Falls which made a right turn not far past the slide area. It was a serene place with the mixed sounds of trickling and splashing waters. A nice place to relax, shaded from both the sun and the cares of life. Check off another of the Upstate's waterfalls that I've visited.
The list is now as follows:
1. Big Bend Falls on the Chattooga River
2. Chauga Narrows on the Chauga River
3. Issaqueena Falls past Walhalla on Hwy. 28









4. King Creek Falls near Burrell's Ford on King's Creek by the Chattooga River












5. Spoonauger Falls near Burrell's Ford on Spoonauger Creek by the Chattooga River









6. Lee Falls on Tamassee Creek












7. Licklog Falls on the Chattooga River
8. Pigpen Falls on the Chattooga River
9. Lower Whitewater Falls at Lake Jocassee
10. Miuka Falls on the Winding Stairs Trail
11. Secret Falls off the Winding Stairs Trail
12. Station Cove Falls at the historic Oconee Station Site
13. Yellow Branch Falls across from Issaqueena Falls on Hwy. 28 past Walhalla









14. Falls Creek Falls on the east end of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area and Jones Gap State Park via Hospital Rock Trail












15. Jones Gap Falls on the Jones Gap Trail
16. Raven Cliff Falls from the top via the Foothills Trail and the lookout across the valley









17. Laurel Fork Falls on Lake Jocassee
18. Twin Falls west of Table Rock
19. Carrick Creek Falls in Table Rock State Park
20. Spring Bluff Falls via Pinnacle Mountain Trail
21. Mill Creek Falls via Pinnacle Mountain Trail












22. Reedy River Falls in downtown Greenville

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Surface Tension - Glass Plates

[Click images to see full size]

Surface tension - "In physics, surface tension is an effect within the surface layer of a liquid that causes the layer to behave as an elastic sheet. It is the effect that allows insects (such as the water strider) to walk on water, and causes capillary action, for example" (1) .

Meniscus - "A meniscus is a curve in the surface of a liquid and is produced in response to the surface of the container or another object" (2).


Why are these glass plates sticking together? The same principle that allow water skimmers to glide on top of water, or causes water to seem to curve up when in a glass tube, are in effect here. Surface tension!


A meniscus is caused by the attraction of water to glass...are you thinking yet? Water is attracted to water (this is why water beads up on smooth surfaces) and water is attracted to glass. When two plates of glass are sandwiched together with a small amount of water in between them (or an oil, such as finger oils - which is the case above), the cohesion is incredibly strong.

Click here to see a high school science experiment with video

1 - "Surface tension", Wikipedia.org, 22 July 2006.
2 - "Meniscus", Wikipedia.org, 30 June 2006.