Lava floods human-made infrastructure on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula in this aerial image from photographer Ael Kermarec. Protecting roads and buildings from lava flows is a formidable challenge, but it’s one Keep reading
Tag: viscous flow
Swimming With Cilia
Like most microswimmers, these Synura uvella algae use cilia to swim. Cilia are tiny, hair-like appendages that flap to produce thrust. Even under a microscope, the cilia are hard to Keep reading
“Emitter”
For this latest experimental film, artist Roman De Giuli provides a glimpse of the unique fluid art machine he’s built over the last 3.5 years. With 10 channels driven by Keep reading
Sensing Sound Like Spiderwebs
Most microphones — like our ears — work by sensing the tiny pressure changes caused by a sound wave‘s passing. But for microphones built this way, the smaller they get, Keep reading
“Alive”
In “Alive,” filmmaker Christopher Dormoy explores acrylic paints and the variety of ways in which the medium can be used. From a fluids perspective, there’s dripping, viscous flow, turbulent eddies, Keep reading
Granular Gaps
Push air into a gap filled with a viscous fluid, and you’ll get the branching, dendritic pattern of a Saffman-Taylor instability. Here, researchers use a similar set-up: injection into a Keep reading
Honeybee Feeding
Busy bees feed on millions of flowers for each kilogram of honey they produce. To gather nectar, bees use their hairy tongues, which project out of a sheath-like cover. Protraction Keep reading
A Bubble’s Path
Centuries ago, Leonardo da Vinci noticed something peculiar about bubbles rising through water. Small bubbles followed a straight path, but slightly larger ones swung back and forth or corkscrewed upward. Keep reading
Saffman-Taylor Instability
Air and blue-dyed glycerin squeezed between two glass plates form curvy, finger-like protrusions. This is a close-up of the Saffman-Taylor instability, a pattern created when a less viscous fluid — here, Keep reading
Eruption in a Box
In layers of viscous fluids, lighter and less viscous fluids can displace heavier, more viscous liquids. Here, researchers demonstrate this using four fluids sandwiched between layers of glass and mounted Keep reading