Archery is one of the oldest Olympic sports, but the physics involved are remarkably complex. Even looking only at the flight of the arrow, the problem is hardly simple. The Keep reading
Month: March 2025
London 2012: Swimming Pool Physics
The era of the LZR suit may be over in swimming, but technology is still making an impact when it comes to making swimmers faster. One thing you’ll often hear Keep reading
The Olympic Torch
[original media no longer available] Today marks the beginning of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In the opening ceremony, the Olympic flame will complete its journey from Olympia to Keep reading
Oil in Alcohol
In this video two droplets of oil fall through a bath of isopropyl alcohol. The oil is denser than alcohol, and the two fluids are miscible. The velocity and density Keep reading
Mussels
In this video, schlieren imaging is used to make visible the flow field around a mussel. Mussels are filter-feeders, drawing nearby water in to obtain their food and expelling the Keep reading
Sally Ride
Today FYFD takes a brief aside from fluid dynamics to mark the passing of Sally Ride, the first U.S. woman to travel to space. A physicist by training, Ride served Keep reading
How Maple Seeds Fly
Maple tree seeds flutter and spin as they descend. The above video, which shows flow visualization of a freely falling seed, demonstrates that the so-called helicopter seed’s autorotation creates a vortex Keep reading
Turing Patterns
Turing patterns form as a result of a particular kind of chemical reaction: a reaction-diffusion system. It consists of an activator chemical capable of making more of itself, and an Keep reading
Vibrating Mercury
A drop of mercury on a vibrating teflon surface assumes various mode shapes as the amplitude and frequency of oscillation are changed. Note the geometry and symmetry of the mode Keep reading
Liquid Pearls
Researchers create liquid pearls–a liquid droplet surrounded by a gel-like exterior–by dropping the fluid through a special bath. The initial droplet contains a mixture of the liquid core and an Keep reading