Celebrating the physics of all that flows with Nicole Sharp, Ph.D.
- Profile
Why Most Wind Turbines Are 3-Bladed
Although wind turbines can have any number of blades, most that we see have three. The reasons for that are many, as explained in this Minute Physics video. In terms of physics, wind turbines with more blades produce more torque, but they pay for it with more drag. Engineering-wise, wind turbines with odd numbers of…
“Orion, the Horsehead and the Flame in H-alpha”
Photographer Daniele Borsari captured this gorgeous composite image of nebulas in black and white, emphasizing the motion underlying the gas and dust. In the upper right, the Orion Nebula shines, bright with new stars. In the lower left, you can pick out the distinctive shape of the Horsehead Nebula and, further to the left, the…
Kirigami Parachutes
In kirigami, careful cuts to a flat surface can morph it into a more complicated shape. Researchers have been exploring how to use this in combination with flow; now they’ve created a new form of parachute. Like a dandelion seed, this parachute is porous, with a complex but stable wake structure. This allows the parachute…
Circulation in a Capillary Network
Today’s video shows red blood cells flowing through a capillary network in a rat’s skeletal muscle. At this resolution, our eyes can follow the paths of individual red blood cells squeezing through each capillary, as well as the faster blur of thicker capillaries where many cells can pass at once. Watching videos like this is…
Geoengineering Trials Must Consider Unintended Costs
As the implications of climate change grow more dire, interest in geoengineering–trying to technologically counter or mitigate climate change–grows. For example, some have suggested that barriers near tidewater glaciers could restrict the inflow of warmer water, potentially slowing the rate at which a glacier melts. But there are several problems with such plans, as researchers…
Protecting Wildlife from Underwater Construction
The loud noises of construction are not just an issue for humans. Sound and pressure waves from underwater construction are a problem for water-dwellers, too. So engineers use bubble curtains around a construction site to help reduce the amount of sound that escapes. Water and air transmit sound very differently; in acoustic terms, they have…
Cornflower Roots Growing
As children, most of us plant a seed or two and watch it sprout, but we never get a view quite like this one. This microscopic timelapse shows the roots of a cornflower plant extending into moist, porous soil, establishing xylem, and extending root hairs outward to collect water and nutrients to fuel further growth.…
Waves Over Sand Ripples
Look beneath the waves on a beach or in a bay, and you’ll find ripples in the sand. Passing waves shape these sandforms and can even build them to heights that require dredging to keep waterways passable to large ships. To better understand how the sand interacts with the flow, researchers build computer models that…
Growing Salty
Ngangla Ringco sits atop the Tibetan Plateau, breaking up the barren landscape with eye-catching teal and blue. This saline lake sits at an altitude of 4,700 meters, fed by rainfall, Himalayan runoff, and melting glaciers and permafrost. The lake, like many inland bodies of salt water, has no outflow. Instead, water evaporates from the lake,…
Sand Dikes Can Date Earthquakes
When a strong earthquake causes liquefaction, sand can intrude upward, leaving behind a feature that resembles an upside-down icicle. Known as a sand dike, researchers suspected that these intrusions could help us date ancient earthquakes. A new study shows how and why this is possible. Using optically stimulated luminescence, researchers had already dated quartz in…