Leidenfrost drops – which skitter almost frictionlessly across extremely hot surfaces on a thin layer of their own vapor – are notoriously mobile. We’ve seen numerous methods of controlling their Keep reading
Tag: circulation
Psychedelic Cymatics
Cymatics are the visualization of vibration and sound. Here photographer Linden Gledhill has taken a simple speaker vibrating a dish of water and turned it into some incredible art. When Keep reading
Reader Question: Lift
everyonelikespotatissallad asks: so, how is lift actually generated? i’ve been going through Anderson’s Introduction to Flight (6th Ed.) and while it offers the derivation of various equations very thoroughly, it barely Keep reading
Cracks in Sea Ice
Arctic sea ice often appears as a single extensive sheet when, in reality, it is made up of many smaller sections of ice shifting and grinding against one another under Keep reading
Rock Skipping Tips
Almost everyone has tried skipping rocks across the surface of a pond or lake. Here Professor Tadd Truscott gives a primer on the physics of rock skipping, including some high-speed Keep reading
Atmospheric Dynamics in the Lab
One way to explore some of the large-scale atmospheric dynamics we observe here on earth is through table-top demonstrations such as this one. Here a platform with a water tank Keep reading
Sea Surface Temperatures
This video shows sea surface temperature results and their seasonal variation from a numerical simulation modeling circulation in the atmosphere and oceans. Modeling such enormous problems requires the development of reasonable Keep reading
How the Sun Drives the Earth
This video describes how the sun’s energy drives wind and ocean currents on earth. As solar winds stream forth from the sun, our magnetosphere deflects the brunt of the impact Keep reading
Circulation Around an Airfoil
As a followup to yesterday’s question about ways to explain lift on an airfoil, here’s a video that explains where the circulation around the airfoil comes from and why the Keep reading
Reader Question: How Airfoils Produce Lift
doughboy3-deactivated20120305 asks: I’m a Undergrad Aeronautical Engineering student. I’m curious as to your opinion as to how airfoils produce lift. I know the usual theory told in this situation. However my Keep reading