To make a vortex in the laboratory, researchers typically set a tank on a rotating platform and allow the water to drain out a hole in the center of the Keep reading
Month: November 2024
Particle-Filled Coatings
Pulling a solid object from a liquid bath can coat it in a thin layer of liquid. The thickness of the coating layer depends on the speed at which the Keep reading
Stably Jammed
Granular materials like sand, gravel, and medications can become a rigid mass when squeezed or sheared. Even with a relatively loose packing, these materials can jam together to act like Keep reading
How Wells and Aquifers Work
When rain falls, some of that water turns into run-off in storm systems but much of it seeps into the ground. What happens to that water? In most places, it Keep reading
“I See You”
In “I See You,” filmmaker Rus Khasanov captures fluid flows that give the screen an eye with which to gaze back at us. The textures visible in the flows are Keep reading
Asperitas Formation
In 2017, the World Meteorological Organization named a new cloud type: the wave-like asperitas cloud. How these rare and distinctive clouds form is still a matter of debate, but this Keep reading
Surf’s Up
Surfers flock to northern Peru to enjoy what’s been called the world’s longest wave. These waves are generated by storms thousands of miles away in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Keep reading
When Seeing a Flow Changes It
Adding dye to a flow is a common technique for visualization. After all, many flows in fluids like air and water are invisible to our bare eyes. But for some Keep reading
Recreating Flocks
Birds, fish, and other creatures form amazing, undulating swarms of individuals. How these collectives comes together and move continues to fascinate scientists. Here, researchers look at simple particles with two Keep reading
The Odd Air Bubbles
Though it looks like a strange underwater panorama, this image by photographer Marek Miś actually captures air bubbles trapped beneath the slip cover of a microscope slide smeared with drying Keep reading