Sand and other granular materials can be strikingly fluid-like. Here the impact of a solid sphere on sand generates a splash remarkably similar to what’s seen with water. When the Keep reading
Month: September 2024
Dust Envelopes Mars
Day has turned into night for NASA’s Opportunity rover as a massive dust storm envelopes Mars. The first signs of the dust storm were reported May 30th, and over the Keep reading
Giving Droplets a Kick
Giving droplets a kick by accelerating the surface they sit on creates elaborate shapes as the drops respond. As the surface accelerates upward, the droplet flattens into a pancake. When Keep reading
Using Embolisms to Fight Cancer
Blocking blood vessels by creating embolisms is, under most circumstances, very bad. But researchers are exploring ways to fight cancer by intentionally and strategically creating these blockages. In gas embolotherapy, Keep reading
Bringing Beavers Back
It’s easy sometimes to forget just how drastically humans alter landscapes. Before European fur trappers came to North America, its waterways were ruled by beavers, one of nature’s most impressive Keep reading
“Liquid Calligraphy”
In “Liquid Calligraphy,” artist Rus Khasanov’s letters dissolve once he draws them. At first, the white ink spreads in narrow fingers, probably driven by a combination of surface tension gradients, capillary Keep reading
Rim Break-Up
Splashing drops often expand into a liquid sheet and spray droplets from an unstable rim. Although this behavior is key to many natural and industrial processes, including disease transmission and Keep reading
Turbulence and Star Formation
Space, as I’ve discussed previously, is surprisingly full of matter, especially clouds of dust. And yet the rate of star formation we observe is bizarrely low; the Milky Way, for Keep reading
Leaping Mobulas
Mobula rays are second only to manta rays in size, and, unlike their larger cousins, relatively little is known about them. Like other rays, they propel themselves by flapping their Keep reading
The Coexistence of Order and Chaos
One of the great challenges in fluid dynamics is understanding how order gives way to chaos. Initially smooth and laminar flows often become disordered and turbulent. This video explores that Keep reading