Our skies can sometimes presage the weather to come. In thunderstorms, a cirrus plume above an anvil cloud will often appear (visible by satellite) about half an hour before severe Keep reading
Tag: CFD
Marshland Wave Damping
Coastal marshes are a critical natural defense against flooding. The flexible plants of the marsh both slow the water’s current and help damp waves. As a result of that hydrodynamic Keep reading
Turbulent Puffs
When a burst of air gets expelled into still surroundings — like when a person coughs — it forms a turbulent puff like the one seen here. Puffs can be Keep reading
Superfluid Instabilities
Superfluids — like Bose-Einstein condensates — are bizarre compared to fluids from our everyday experience because they have no viscosity. Without viscosity, it’s no surprise that they behave in unusual Keep reading
Better Inhalers Through CFD
As levels of air pollution rise, so does the incidence of pulmonary diseases like asthma. Treatments for these diseases largely rely on inhalers containing drug particles that need to be Keep reading
Stingray Eyes
With their flexible, flattened shape, rays are some of the most efficient swimmers in the ocean. But, at first glance, it seems as if their protruding eyes and mouth would Keep reading
Keeping Cool in the Cretaceous
I love that fluid dynamics can bring new insights to other subjects, like this study on how heavily-armored ankylosaurs avoided heat stroke. Scans of ankylosaur skulls show a complicated, twisty Keep reading
Sea Sponge Hydrodynamics
The Venus’s flower basket is a sea sponge that lives at depths of 100-1000 meters. Its intricate latticework skeleton has long fascinated engineers for its structural mechanics, but a new Keep reading
Controlling Aerosols Onstage
Few industries saw more disruption from the pandemic than the performing arts. To help orchestras return to the concert hall in a way that keeps performers and audience members safe, Keep reading
Airborne Aerosol Transmission of COVID-19
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic health officials resisted the idea that the novel coronavirus was transmissible through tiny aerosol droplets rather than larger, non-buoyant droplets. One case that made headlines Keep reading