#2023gofm

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Mocha Diffusion

These firework-like patterns spread when dyes are added atop a viscous but miscible lower fluid layer. Here, researchers use lower layers like corn syrup and xanthan gum; then they spread dye mixtures including ammonia and vinegar atop those layers.  (Image credit: T. Watson and J. Burton) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Inside a Soap Bubble

Every child learns to blow soap bubbles, but it's rare that we have a chance to look inside them and see the flow there. In this poster, researchers seed a growing bubble with olive oil droplets, then illuminate them with a laser.  (Image credit: S. Rau et al.) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Shaking on Impact

When objects impact water with enough speed, they create a smooth-walled, air-filled cavity around and behind them. Here, the impacting object is one with some give, like a spring.  (Image credit: J. Antolik et al.) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

The Hydrodynamics of Marbling

In marbling, an artist floats paints on a viscosified water bath, using various thin tools to manipulate the final image. Many cultures have developed a version of this art, but for many it will be most recognizable as a technique used to decorate book interiors.  (Video credit: Y. Sun et al.) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Ciliary Pathlines

For tiny creatures, swimming through water requires techniques very different than ours. Many, like this sea urchin larva, use hair-like cilia that they beat to push fluid near their bodies. The flows generated this way are beautiful and complex. (Image credit: B. Shrestha et al.) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Rough Surfaces

In fluid dynamics, we're often concerned with flow moving past a solid surface -- air past an airplane wing, water past fish scales, oil between moving parts -- and those surfaces are rarely perfectly smooth.  (Image credit: J. Kostelecky and C. Ansorge) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Millennium Falcon's Glide

In what seems to be a tradition now, a group at MIT imagined how the Millennium Falcon would perform if it lost its engines during atmospheric flight. Their hypothetical scenario took place in the Battle of Endor, with the Falcon flying at an altitude of 2 kilometers. Could Han Solo and Chewbecca safely glide the craft down? (Image credit: S. Costa et al.; see also X-Wing Re-entry and AT-AT Flow) Read the full article

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Variations on a Theme by Edgerton

In the 1930s, Harold Edgerton used strobed lighting to capture moments too fast for the human eye, including his famous "Milk-Drop Coronet".  (Image credit: R. Zenit et al.) Read the full article