Celebrating the physics of all that flows with Nicole Sharp, Ph.D.
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Fluids Round-Up
New year, new (or renewed) experiments. This is the fluids round-up, where I collect cool fluids-related links, articles, etc. that deserve a look. Without further ado: Above is a new music video from the Julia Set Collection, featuring all non-CGI, fluids-based visuals. I spy soap films, vibrating liquids, and lots of cool effects with reflection…
Boiling Water to Snow
When it’s really cold outside–to the tune of -40 degrees (Fahrenheit or Celsius)–physics can get a little crazy. In this photo, boiling-hot water from a thermos turns into an instant snowstorm when tossed. How is this possible? It turns out there are a combination of factors that affect this. Firstly, the rate of heat transfer…
Inside APS DFD 2015
What do shark scales, underwater robots, blood flow, and art have in common? They’re all a part of the latest FYFD video! Check out my behind-the-scenes look at the latest American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting. Meet the researchers and find out about the science everyone was talking about! (Image/video credit: N. Sharp)
Pluto: Subsurface Convection
Pluto’s rich and unexpected surface features indicate the dwarf planet is still geologically active. This is one of the largest surprises of the New Horizons mission because it was assumed that Pluto was too small, too isolated, and too old for such activity. Instead, its cryovolcanoes and surface convection cells point to significant and vigorous…
Pluto: Convection in Sputnik Planum
The icy plain of Sputnik Planum, located in Pluto’s heart-shaped Tombaugh Reggio, is criss-crossed with troughs that divide the plain into polygons. The current interpretation of these features is that they are the result of thermal convection. As with Rayleigh-Benard convection cells on Earth, the interior of the polygons is formed by the upwelling of…
Pluto: Cryovolcanoes
Since its flyby last summer, NASA’s New Horizons mission has had planetary scientists questioning all our assumptions about Pluto and its fellow cold, icy worlds on the outskirts of the solar system. The two mountainous features above, the 4-km tall Wright Mons and 5.6-km tall Piccard Mons, are part of the mystery. Both mountains have…
Melted Polymers
What you see here, despite appearances, is not a soap film. On the contrary, this is a thin vertical film made up of melted polymers. Like a soap film, it is extremely thin, varying from a few nanometers at its thinnest to several hundred nanometers at the thickest point. But unlike a freestanding soap film,…
Perching Physics
Compared to birds, manmade aircraft tend to be quite limited and inelegant. Fixed-wing aircraft, for example, require long, flat areas for take-off and landing, whereas birds of all sizes are adept at maneuvers like perching. This video examines the perching behaviors of large birds and extends the physics to a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).…
Beach Cusps
This composite photo shows the arc of the sun over Lulworth Cove in England during the December solstice. The low sun angle reveals a distinctive circular diffraction pattern of waves inside the cove. Along the shoreline, the beach has eroded into a regular, arc-like pattern known as beach cusps. Although there are multiple theories about…
The Best of FYFD 2015
2015 was a pretty good year. FYFD turned five, we had a great reader survey response, and Tumblr gave us a Tumblr Lifetime Achievement! Guess that means I’ve got more in common with Wil Wheaton and the New York Public Library than my lifelong obsession with books. Without further ado, I give you the top…