The Mozambique Channel boasts some of the world’s most turbulent waters, driven by eddies hundreds of kilometers wide. Eddies of this size — known as mesoscale — determine regional flows Keep reading
Tag: flow visualization
Kirigami in the Flow
Kirigami is a paper art that combines folding and cutting to create elaborate shapes. Here, researchers use cuts in thin sheets of plastic and explore how the sheets transform in Keep reading
Creating Liquid Landscapes
Artist Roman De Giuli excels at creating what appear to be vast landscapes carved by moving water. In reality, these pieces are small-scale flows, created on paper. Now, De Giuli Keep reading
Escape From Yavin 4
In an ongoing tradition, let’s take another look at some Star Wars-inspired aerodynamics. This year it’s the TIE fighter’s turn. Here, researchers simulate the spacecraft trying to escape Yavin 4’s Keep reading
Quietening Drones
A drone’s noisiness is one of its major downfalls. Standard drones are obnoxiously loud and disruptive for both humans and animals, one reason that they’re not allowed in many places. Keep reading
Filtering Like a Manta Ray
As manta rays swim, they’re constantly doing two important — but not necessarily compatible — things: getting oxygen to breathe and collecting plankton to eat. That requires some expert filtering Keep reading
Drops on the Edge
Drops impacting a dry hydrophilic surface flatten into a film. Drops that impact a wet film throw up a crown-shaped splash. But what happens when a drop hits the edge Keep reading
Salt Fingers
Any time a fluid under gravity has areas of differing density, it convects. We’re used to thinking of this in terms of temperature — “hot air rises” — but temperature Keep reading
Twisting in the Flow
What happens to liquid crystals in a flow? In this video, researchers look at liquid crystals flowing through the narrow gap of a microfluidic device. Initially, all the crystals are Keep reading
Simulating a Sneeze
Sneezing and coughing can spread pathogens both through large droplets and through tiny, airborne aerosols. Understanding how the nasal cavity shapes the aerosol cloud a sneeze produces is critical to Keep reading