Recent controversies over swimsuit technologies haven’t damped the creativity of Speedo’s marketing staff. They recently unveiled Fastskin 4.0, a futuristic concept designed for the swimmers of 2040*. They’ve envisioned a Keep reading
Category: Phenomena
Tokyo 2020: Sailing Physics
At first glance, sailboats don’t look much like an airplane, but physics-wise, they’re closely related. Both the sail and hull of a sailboat act like wings turned on their side. Keep reading
Pump Problems
Pumps are a critical piece of infrastructure, but to keep them operating, engineers have to account for several potential pitfalls. In this Practical Engineering video, Grady discusses some of the Keep reading
Mud Pots
Mud pots, or mud volcanoes, form when volcanic gases escape underlying magma and rise through water and earth to form bubbling mud pits. I had the chance to watch some Keep reading
Suspended Sediments in Lake Erie
Lake Erie’s Long Point is outlined in turquoise in this natural-color satellite image. The pale color is likely due to limestone sediments in the shallow waters getting resuspended by a Keep reading
Unusual Insects Taking Off
What do you do when you’re an insect researcher with a high-speed camera? Why, film all sorts of unusual insects from your backyard as they take off and fly! Here Keep reading
When Rivers Break Their Banks
Rivers often change their course, but they do not always do so gradually. River avulsions are a bit like earthquakes — they happen suddenly and with disastrous potential. Researchers find Keep reading
When Squids Fly
Some species of squid fly at speeds comparable to a motorboat for distances of 50 meters. The cephalopods get into the air the same way they swim underwater: by expelling Keep reading
Flamingo Filter-Feeding
Flamingoes are strange and ungainly creatures, but their hooked bills make much more sense when you see them eating underwater. The birds are filter feeders, and they suck water, mud, Keep reading
Pipe Flow and Pressure
Whether you’re a homeowner or an engineer, at some point you’ll have to deal with pipe flow and the challenges inherent to getting water from Point A to Point B. Keep reading