Celebrating the physics of all that flows with Nicole Sharp, Ph.D.
- Profile
Warming Temperatures Increase Turbulence
After multiple high-profile injuries caused by atmospheric turbulence, you might be wondering whether airplane rides are getting rougher. Unfortunately, the answer is yes, at least for clear-air (i.e., non-storm-related) turbulence in the North Atlantic region. It seems that climate change, as predicted, is increasing the bumpiness of our atmosphere. There are a couple of mechanisms…
Dripping Viscoelastics
An ultrasoft viscoelastic fluid drips in this research poster from the Gallery of Soft Matter. Complex materials like this one have stretchy, elastic behaviors typical of a solid along with the flowing, viscous properties of a fluid. Here, gravity overcomes the material’s elasticity, leaving it to sag and flow. As that happens, the fluid must…
Vortex Rings at Dawn
Vortex rings blown from Mount Etna’s vents drift through the dawn light in this beautiful image from Dario Giannobile. Little is required to create vortex rings — they are a puff of fluid shaped by an orifice — but they are relatively unusual to see around volcanoes. Etna is an exception; it happens to have…
Rocky Exoplanet With an Atmosphere
In the past few decades, the number of exoplanets we’ve found has ballooned to over 5,000, but most of these worlds are gas giants closer to Jupiter than our rocky Earth. But a recent study has turned up evidence of a rocky exoplanet that, like Earth, has an atmosphere made up of more than hydrogen.…
Building In a Stingless Hive
Honeybees, with their stingers, get lots of attention, but the Americas have plenty of stinger-less honeymakers, too. These stingless bees are native to Mexico, where beekeepers cultivate them for pollination. Without stingers and venom, the bees use their building prowess to keep out unwanted visitors. Much of the hive — from the entrance’s nightly gate…
Melting Permafrost Stains Alaskan Rivers Orange
The swiftly melting permafrost of the Arctic is releasing toxic metals like zinc, cadmium, and iron into Alaskan waterways. The contaminant levels are so high that it’s staining many rivers orange — a feature that can be seen from space. A new study identified at least 75 affected rivers in the Brooks mountain range. In…
Helping Fish Bypass Hydro Power Dams
Many dams in the U.S. were built at a time when their ecological impact was not a major concern. But, thanks to ongoing efforts to study affected species and upgrade infrastructure, many dams now balance human energy needs with the needs of non-humans, like migratory fish populations. In this video, Grady from Practical Engineering takes…
Bubblegum Sculptures
Like soap bubbles, bubbles blown in gum are ephemeral, lasting only seconds. Their break-up mechanism is quite different, though. Where surface tension rips a bubble apart once it is pierced, bubblegum instead deflates and wrinkles around a hole that does not grow, thanks to the elasticity of the gum. This photographic series by Suzanne Saroff…
Venus Flower Basket Sponges
Venus flower basket sponges have an elaborate, vase-like skeleton pocked with holes that allow water to pass through the organism. A recent numerical study looked at how the sponge’s shape deflects incoming (horizontal) ocean currents into a vertical flow the sponge can use to filter out food. The sponges’ structure is porous and lined with…
Growing Hydrogels in an Active Fluid
Active nematic fluids borrow their ingredients from biology. Using long, rigid microtubules and kinesin motor proteins capable of cross-linking between and “walking” along tubules, researchers create these complex flow patterns. Here, a team took the system a step further by seeding the flow with a hydrogel that turns into a polymer when exposed to light.…