Milk Drop Coronet

Cibachrome high speed photograph 'Milk Drop Coronet' by Harold Edgerton, 1957

Harold Edgerton (1903-1990) was a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He developed the use of the stroboscope (a rapidly flashing light) to make multiple very fast flashes to photograph high-speed movement. Edgerton’s photographs are scientific records that capture events too fast for the naked eye but are also striking visual images.

In this image Edgerton photographed a drop of milk hitting a red plate revealing the crownlike shape of the splash.