The sleek hulls of racing boats are designed to minimize drag, but there’s optimization to the oars as well. Mathematical models – and the history of rowing – indicate that Keep reading
Galleries
Behind the Bubbly
Carbonation and the fizzy bubbles that come with it are surprisingly popular among humans. Through fermentation or artificial introduction, carbon dioxide gas gets dissolved into a liquid under high pressure. Keep reading
Artificial Microswimmers
In a 1959 lecture entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom”, Richard Feynman challenged scientists to create a tiny motor capable of propelling itself. Although artificial microswimmers took several Keep reading
Floccing Particles
Adding particles to a viscous fluid can create unexpected complications, thanks to the interplay of fluid and solid interactions. Here we see a dilute mixture of dark spherical particles suspended Keep reading
Crepe-Making Physics
If you buy a crêpe from a vendor, chances are that they’ll use a blade like the one above to spread the batter evenly across an immobile griddle. But for Keep reading
Using Bubbles to Keep Clean
Keeping produce clean of foodborne pathogens is a serious issue, and delicate fruits and vegetables like tomatoes cannot withstand intense procedures like cavitation-based cleaning. But a new study suggests that Keep reading
Salty Comets
Many of the products we use every day in our homes behave like solids until the right force is applied. These yield-stress fluids are like hand sanitizer – strong enough Keep reading
Polygonal Droplets
Spheres are a special shape; they provide the smallest possible surface area necessary to contain a given volume. And since surface tension tries to minimize surface energy by reducing the Keep reading
Order in Chaos
Although turbulent flow is chaotic, it’s not completely disordered. In fact, order can emerge from turbulence, though exactly how this happens has been a long-enduring mystery. Take the animations above. Keep reading
The Shape of Splashes
When a wedge falls into a pool, it creates a distinctive, doubly-curved splash. Here’s how it works. When the front of the wedge first enters the water, it creates a Keep reading