Although we often think of solids as immovable in the face of flow, the motion of air and water sculpts many parts of our world. One common pattern, seen both Keep reading
Month: February 2025
“Breathe”
In black and white, the towering power of a thunderstorm looks almost apocalyptic. Photographer Mike Olbinski’s latest storm timelapse, “Breathe,” features roiling turbulence, distant downpours, and eerie mammatus clouds. Supercell thunderstorms Keep reading
In the Eye of a Hurricane
Although eyes are common at the center of large-scale cyclones, scientists are only now beginning to understand how they form. Since real-world cyclogenesis is complicated by many competing effects, researchers Keep reading
Jumping Larvae
Gall midge larvae, despite their lack of legs, are prodigious jumpers. These worm-like creatures use hydrostatic pressure to jump more than 30 body lengths. To do so, the larva curls Keep reading
Withstanding Windstorms
Saguaro cacti can grow 15 meters tall, and despite their shallow root systems can withstand storm winds up to 38 meters per second without being blown over. Grooves in the Keep reading
Water Walking, Exploding Droplets, and Colliding Vortices
Every year I look forward to the APS DFD conference in November. It brings thousands of researchers together to share the latest in fluid dynamics. So much goes on in Keep reading
An Armored Bed
A river’s flow constantly changes its underlying bed. The rocks and particulates beneath a flowing river can typically be divided into two zones: an upper layer called the bed-load zone Keep reading
Juno’s Citizen Science
The Juno mission’s JunoCam has been producing stunning photos each time the spacecraft swoops past Jupiter. The instrument has a planning team, but its primary use is for citizen scientists, Keep reading
The Foggy Grand Canyon
On occasion in the late fall and early winter, the Grand Canyon can fill with clouds of fog. This occurs when a layer of warm air traps cold, moist air Keep reading
The Lava Lamps That Secure the Internet
A wall of lava lamps in a San Francisco office currently helps keep about 10% of the Internet’s traffic secure. Internet security company Cloudflare uses a video feed of the Keep reading