What, exactly, is sublimation?

Sublimation is a transition from solid phase to gas phase with no intermediate liquid phase. In these images, small pellets of carbon dioxide (also known as "dry ice") are seen gliding on a very thin sheet of water with a sheet of glass positioned a small distance above the water. The dry ice interacts with the air and water, sublimating and producing clouds of carbon dioxide gas around each pellet. The glass constrains the reaction in 2D space instead of allowing it to freely expand in all directions.

The process of sublimation is the engine which drives the dynamic nature of fluids in motion, to create the swirling clouds of gas in these images. Like a snowflake, each of these images is forever unique - it is impossible to ever duplicate the exact arrangement again. Each image is a very different experience of the same thing happening as we witness the nature of fluid dynamics produced during sublimation.

The colors in the gasses are subtle in the raw, unprocessed images. The colors have been intensified by increasing the saturation in the raw converter and in Photoshop as part of the "digital darkroom" processing of these images.