Manufacturing textured, flexible surfaces can be difficult, but researchers are exploring ways to use fluid dynamical instabilities to make the process easier. They begin with a pourable polymer mixture that Keep reading
Tag: 2017gofm
Visualizing Turbulence
Turbulence, the seemingly random and chaotic state that fluids often tend toward, can be difficult to wrap one’s head around. Turn your faucet on high or pour milk into your Keep reading
Giving Droplets a Kick
Giving droplets a kick by accelerating the surface they sit on creates elaborate shapes as the drops respond. As the surface accelerates upward, the droplet flattens into a pancake. When Keep reading
The Coexistence of Order and Chaos
One of the great challenges in fluid dynamics is understanding how order gives way to chaos. Initially smooth and laminar flows often become disordered and turbulent. This video explores that Keep reading
Impressionist Foams
Imagine taking two panes of glass and setting them in a frame with a small gap between them. Then partially fill the gap with a mixture of dye, glycerol, water, Keep reading
Surfaces That Scrape Off Ice
Ice can be a terrible pest, freezing to surfaces like roads and airplane wings and causing all sorts of havoc. Some surfaces, though, can actually prompt a freezing drop to Keep reading
Water Walking, Exploding Droplets, and Colliding Vortices
Every year I look forward to the APS DFD conference in November. It brings thousands of researchers together to share the latest in fluid dynamics. So much goes on in Keep reading
Breaking Up Turbulence
Under most circumstances, we think about flows changing from ordered and laminar to random and turbulent. But it’s actually possible for disordered flows to become laminar again. This is what Keep reading
Rolling Along
Leidenfrost drops – droplets deposited onto a surface much hotter than their boiling point – are known for their mobility. With the right surface, they can be propelled, trapped, and Keep reading
Water Music of Vanuatu
In the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu, women have a tradition of water music, accompanying their singing with a percussive use of water. This video explores the physics behind this Keep reading