Celebrating the physics of all that flows with Nicole Sharp, Ph.D.
- Profile
Predicting Sea States
Transferring cargo between ships and landing aircraft on carriers requires predicting how the waves will behave for the next few minutes. That’s a notoriously difficult task for several reasons: rough seas can hide a ship radar’s view and the inherent nonlinearity of ocean waves means that they can occasionally coalesce unexpectedly large (“rogue“) waves, seemingly…
Zoom Into the Sun
Fall into our nearest star in this gorgeous high-resolution view of the Sun. Taken by Solar Orbiter, a joint NASA-ESA mission, the image stretches from the fiery photosphere — full of filaments and prominences — to the wispy yet unbelievably hot corona. It’s well worth clicking through to zoom in and around the full size…
Icelandia
Photographer Rosita Dimitrova describes Iceland as “an absolute heaven” for aerial photography like this featured image. This plethora of images from Dimitrova and fellow IAPOTY finalists backs up that sentiment. The landscape wears its influences openly; it is shaped by water, ice, wind, and lava into stunning abstract shapes like these. (Image credit: Various/IAPOTY; via…
Watch Hagfish Slime Unfurl
The eel-like hagfish has one of the best defenses in the ocean. When threatened, it releases a slime that clogs the gills of its predator but allows the hagfish itself to slough off the slime and escape. The hagfish slime’s secret weapon is long protein threads, which are initially rolled into bundles called skeins. Seen…
Martian Polar Spiral
The North Pole of Mars is a raised spiral, and each winter a new layer, roughly a meter thick, of carbon dioxide ice gets deposited over it. Strong cold winds rush down from the center of the pole. Mars’s spin creates a Coriolis effect that makes the winds spiral out as they descend. When they…
Tracing the Origins of Ocean Waters
The Sub-Antarctic Mode Waters (SAMW) lie in the southern Indian Ocean and the east and central Pacific Ocean, where they serve as an important sink for both heat and carbon dioxide. Scientists have long debated the origins of the SAMW’s waters, and a new study may have an answer. Researchers combined data from ocean observations…
What Limits a Siphon
Siphons are a bit mind-boggling for anyone who has internalized the idea that water always flows downhill. But gravity actually allows a siphon’s water to flow up and over an obstacle, provided certain conditions are met. Steve Mould digs into the details of those conditions in this video, where he searches for the maximum height…
“Re:Birth”
In “Re:Birth,” videographer Vadim Sherbakov explores the fascinating patterns of ferrofluids, which suspend tiny ferrous particles in another liquid, often oil. When this magnetic liquid is mixed with ink or paint, its black lines take on a labyrinthine appearance. The result is rather psychedelic, especially with Sherbakov’s bold colors. (Video and image credit: V. Sherbakov)
Ice Discs Surf on Herringbones
Inspired by the roaming rocks of Death Valley, researchers went looking for ways to make ice discs self-propel. Leidenfrost droplets can self-propel on herringbone-etched surfaces, so the team used them here, as well. On hydrophilic herringbones, they found that meltwater from the ice disc would fill the channels and drag the ice along with it.…
Albuquerque: Balloonist Paradise
Albuquerque, New Mexico’s unique weather characteristics make it a popular destination for hot-air balloonists. While balloonists can control their altitude by warming or venting the air in their balloon, their horizontal travel comes at the mercy of the wind. (Just ask the erstwhile Wizard of Oz.) What makes Albuquerque special is a combination of topography,…