A new paper (“A separated vortex ring underlies the flight of the dandelion“) published in Nature tells how dandelion seeds create a vortex that keeps them floating through the skies. This little video shows and tells the story of that: (Thanks to the ever-discovery-filled Cocktail Party Physics for bringing this to our attention.) UPDATE (October […]
Tag: fluid dynamics
Head-Shaking Research — Ejecting Water From the Ear Canals
Ejecting water from a person’s ear canals is potentially thrilling, for fluid dynamicists and perhaps for the person. New research on the how and why will be presented at a meeting in November: “Acceleration induced water removal from ear canals,” Hosung Kang, Katelee Averett, and Sunghwan Jung, paper (Abstract D5.00007) to be presented at the […]
Soap Film Opera, fluid dynamically, in France
A series of musico-visual treats — in a new genre called “soap film opera” — are being produced by Florence Elias and her colleagues at Laboratoire Matière et Sytèmes Complexes, Université Paris Diderot and at CNRS. The genre marries soap film, fluid dynamics, music, and videography. Here are three samples — “Habañera” from Carmen, “Lucilla”, and […]
New research on the fluid dynamics of the Boston Molasses Flood
A new scientific analysis aims to understand the fluid dynamics of the Boston Molasses Flood. The bursting of an enormous (about 2 million gallons) tank of molasses created one of the biggest disasters ever to hit that city. Although it happened almost a century ago — on January 15, 1919 — there’s been only a vague scientific understanding of […]