Last week Michigan’s Edenville Dam failed, triggering catastrophic flooding. While the exact causes of dam’s failure are not yet clear, this video of the collapse provides some interesting hints. As Keep reading
Particle-filled Splashes
Adding particles to a liquid can significantly alter its splash dynamics, as shown in this new study. In the first image, a purely-liquid droplet spreads on impact into a thin Keep reading
Updating Undergraduate Heat Transfer
For many engineering students, their first exposure to fluid dynamics comes in a heat transfer class. The typical focus in these classes is not on the underlying physics but on Keep reading
“Focus, Vol. 2”
This short film from photographer Roman De Giuli focuses on ethereal and abstract fluids. What you’re watching is primarily paint, with a little in the way of flow additives. There’s Keep reading
The Naruto Whirlpools
Enormous whirlpools are not simply the work of overactive imaginations. There are several spots in the world, including Japan’s Naruto Strait, that regularly see these spectacular vortices. Naruto’s whirlpools are Keep reading
Fractal Flame Propagation
Hydrogen is a promising alternative to carbon-based fuels, but it comes with its own special challenges. Hydrogen gas is extremely flammable, including under circumstances that would normally quench flames, as Keep reading
Bubble Dynamics Govern Faster Pouring
We’re all familiar with the problem of pouring a liquid from a narrow-necked bottle. To a certain extent, tilting the bottle further will reduce the time it takes to empty, Keep reading
Aerosol Transport
NASA Goddard has produced another gorgeous visualization of how various aerosols move around our world. This visualization is constructed from data collected between August 2019 and January 2020, which means Keep reading
Building Ferrofluid Sculptures
Eric Mesplé is an artist, but he’s also a blacksmith, welder, programmer, engineer, and innovator. Many of his sculptures feature ferrofluids, magnetic liquid whose movement is driven by electromagnets Mesplé Keep reading
Studying Active Polymers Using Worms
I’ve covered some odd studies in my time, but this might be the strangest: to understand how active polymers affect viscosity, researchers loaded drunk worms into a rheometer. Active polymers Keep reading