Few things can show that air is a fluid as well as this movie of the February 11th launch of the Solar Dynamics Observatory. As the Atlas V rocket raced upward, it pushed the air in front of it aside and threw it into ripples like the ones you see when you throw a pebble into a lake. You can't see the air ripple when NASA launches into a clear blue sky, but February 11th was cloudy, and the ice crystals high in the air were enough to show off the waves. There's about a minute of rocket climbing before you see the effect -- wait for it.
A tip of the hat to Alex Irvine for pointing out the video.
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