Celebrating the physics of all that flows with Nicole Sharp, Ph.D.
- Profile
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 a solid if the contacts between grains no longer allow particles to shift or rotate. In this video, researchers explore how stable these jammed states…
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 joins the local aquifer, infusing the spaces between soil particles underground. In this video, Grady takes us through some of the interactions between surface water,…
“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 incredible at mimicking the details of a human iris. These are some seriously neat Marangoni flows. For a similar effect, check out this film of…
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 new study suggests that they need conditions similar to those that produce mammatus clouds, plus some added shear. Using direct numerical simulations, the authors studied…
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. In the open water between, the waves sort themselves into groups of similar wavelength and speed. With the deep water off Peru, the large swells…
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 classes of flows — especially those driven by variations in surface tension — adding dye can have unforeseen effects. A recent study shows how true…
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 “instructions,” if you will. One causes the particle to self-navigate toward a target; the other causes short-range repulsion if the particle gets too close to…
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 callus remover. According to Miś, “Callus remover is one of my favourite agents for taking micrographs. It can create unusual crystalline forms. This time I…
Contactless Bending
Using electromagnetism, researchers are bending and shaping soft liquid wires even against gravity. The team used galinstan — an alloy of gallium, indium, and tin that remains liquid at room temperature. On its own, galinstan has a high surface tension and forms droplets. But with a voltage applied, that surface tension is suppressed, making the…
Flying With Geese
Some people fly with geese to train them for wind tunnel tests, and some people fly with them to teach them safer migratory paths. Today’s video focuses on the latter, specifically conservationist Christian Moullec, who has spent decades living and flying with lesser white-fronted geese as part of an effort to save the threatened species.…