Despite the strange shapes of the arms on this container, the fluid inside will always settle to a common height. This is because each interconnected section is open to the Keep reading
Month: May 2023
Ants as a Fluid
The collective behavior of ants can mirror the flow of a viscous fluid. It would be interesting to see if any such parallels carry over to the flocking of birds Keep reading
Plugging an Oil Leak
Recent research indicates that adding cornstarch to drilling mud increases the likelihood that a “top-kill” procedure will plug a leaking oil well. Adding cornstarch to water (or mud) turns it Keep reading
Wake of a Rising Sphere
This flow visualization shows the wake left by a freely rising sphere. Observations of rising and falling spheres date at least back to Newton, who observed that the inflated hog Keep reading
Supercritical Fluids
Supercritical fluids live in the region of a phase diagram beyond the critical point. At these temperatures and pressures, a substance is neither strictly liquid nor a gas but exhibits Keep reading
Freezing Soap Bubbles
This is what it looks like when a soap bubble freezes. Perhaps not strictly fluid mechanical in nature, but it’s a nice thermodynamics demonstration.
Saturnian Storm
Back in mid-December, amateur astronomers discovered an enormous new storm on Saturn. The Cassini spacecraft captured this image early in the storm’s history (it now stretches farther around the planet). Keep reading
Reader Question: Surface Tension vs. Viscosity
lazenby asks: How can superfluid liquid Helium have zero viscosity while retaining surface tension? (assuming something like surface tension is required for a liquid to form drops) The short answer is Keep reading
Superfluid Helium Leaks from its Container
Below a temperature of 2.17 Kelvin, helium becomes a superfluid, a state of matter boasting several unique properties including zero viscosity (resistance to flow). In this video, scientists demonstrate that Keep reading
Flying Paint
High speed footage of flying paint demonstrates a world of viscosity and surface tension, as well as another great example of fluid dynamics as art. (via Gizmodo) If you enjoy Keep reading