It's called the Leidenfrost effect, and you've seen it before: dribble a little water onto the surface of a hot, dry pan, and the water forms little drops that skate around until they fizzle out.

But have you seen it filmed close-up at 3,000 frames per second? Thanks to Nathan Myhrvold and his Modernist Cuisine team (whom we're going out to visit in Seattle this week!), now you can.