101010.pl

Nicole SharpA Sprite From OrbitA sprite, also known as a red sprite, is an upper-atmospheric electrical discharge sometimes seen from thunderstorms. Unlike lightning, sprites discharge upward from the storm toward the ionosphere. This particular one was captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. That’s a pretty incredible feat because sprites typically only last a millisecond or so. The first one wasn’t photographed until 1989. (Image credit: NASA; via <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/theplanetaryguy.bsky.social/post/3lt3owkdkfs2d?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">P. Byrne</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/astronaut/" target="_blank">#astronaut</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/atmospheric-science/" target="_blank">#atmosphericScience</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/lightning/" target="_blank">#lightning</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/plasma/" target="_blank">#plasma</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/sprite/" target="_blank">#sprite</a>

j_bertolotti<a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/PhysicsFactlet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#PhysicsFactlet</a> Thanks to some humidity in the air the air flow around the plane wing is clearly visible. Instead of just being deflected by the wing, the air flow tend to stick to the wing (and vice versa, the wing tends to stick to the air flow, a phenomenon known as the Coanda effect), which pulls the wing up and allow the plane to fly. <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/Physics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Physics</a> <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/FluidDynamics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#FluidDynamics</a> <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/CoandaEffect" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#CoandaEffect</a> <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/Aerodynamics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Aerodynamics</a> <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/tags/Airplanes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Airplanes</a>

Nicole SharpVenusian Gravity CurrentsRadar measurements of Venus‘s surface reveal the remains of many volcanic eruptions. One type of feature, known as a pancake dome, has a very flat top and steep sides; one dome, Narina Tholus, is over 140 kilometers wide. Since their discovery, scientists have been puzzling out how such domes could form. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008571" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">recent study suggests</a> that the Venusian surface’s elasticity plays a role.According to current models, the pancake domes are gravity currents (like a cold draft under your door, an avalanche, or the <a href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/2019/01/today-marks-the-100th-anniversary-of-the-boston/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Boston Molasses Flood</a>), albeit ones so viscous that they may require hundreds of thousands of Earth-years to settle. Researchers found that their simulated pancake domes best matched measurements from Venus when the lava was about 2.5 times denser than water and flowed over a flexible crust.We might have more data to support (or refute) the study’s conclusions soon, but only if NASA’s VERITAS mission to Venus is not cancelled. (Image credit: NASA; research credit: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JE008571" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">M. Borelli et al.</a>; via <a href="https://gizmodo.com/the-strange-secret-behind-venus-pancake-volcanoes-2000608733?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Gizmodo</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/gravity-currents/" target="_blank">#gravityCurrents</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/planetary-science/" target="_blank">#planetaryScience</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/venus/" target="_blank">#venus</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/viscosity/" target="_blank">#viscosity</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/viscous-flow/" target="_blank">#viscousFlow</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/volcano/" target="_blank">#volcano</a>

Nicole SharpLa Grande Dune du PilatSouthwest of Bordeaux in France stands Europe’s tallest sand dune, La Grande Dune du Pilat. Some 2.7 kilometers long and over 100 meters high, this dune took shape here over thousands of years. It moves inland a few meters every year as winds blowing from the Atlantic push sand up its shallow seaward side to the dune’s crest. There, sand will avalanche down the steeper leeward side, advancing the dune little by little. The dune’s accumulation has not been steady; during cooler and drier times, sand has collected there, but it took warmer and wetter climes to grow the forests that have helped stabilize the soil and build the dune higher. Humanity has played a role as well, at times introducing new tree species to stabilize the dune. (Image credit: W. Liang; via <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154130/a-morphing-monument-of-sand?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">NASA Earth Observatory</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/aeolian-processes/" target="_blank">#aeolianProcesses</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/dunes/" target="_blank">#dunes</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/geophysics/" target="_blank">#geophysics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/granular-material/" target="_blank">#granularMaterial</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/sand-dunes/" target="_blank">#sandDunes</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a>

robryk<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusselt_number#Dittus%E2%80%93Boelter_equation" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusselt_number#Dittus%E2%80%93Boelter_equation</a> says:> n = 0.4 for the fluid being heated, and n = 0.3 for the fluid being cooled.WTAF. Why do we have different power laws for heat transfer between a solid and liquid when the flow is turbulent _depending on the direction of heat transfer_? I can't think of any simple mean field approximation of the process that would yield that.<a href="https://qoto.org/tags/physics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a href="https://qoto.org/tags/fluiddynamics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#fluiddynamics</a>

Nicole SharpRolling Down Soft SurfacesPlace a rigid ball on a hard vertical surface, and it will free fall. Stick a liquid drop there, and it will slide down. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SM01490A" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">researchers discovered</a> that with a soft sphere and a soft surface, it’s possible to roll down a vertical wall. The effect requires just the right level of squishiness for both the wall and sphere, but when conditions are right, the 1-millimeter radius sphere rolls (with a little slipping) down the wall. Rolling requires torque, something that’s usually lacking on a vertical surface. But the team found that their soft spheres got the torque needed to roll from their asymmetric contact with the surface. More of the sphere contacted above its centerline than below it. The researchers compared the way the sphere contacted the surface to a crack opening (at the back of the sphere) and a crack closing (at the front of the sphere). That asymmetry creates just enough torque to roll the sphere slowly. The team hopes their discovery opens up new possibilities for soft robots to climb and descend vertical surfaces. (Image and research credit: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SM01490A" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">S. Mitra et al.</a>; via <a href="https://gizmodo.com/cool-physics-feat-makes-a-sphere-roll-down-a-vertical-wall-2000610612?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Gizmodo</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/adhesion/" target="_blank">#adhesion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/slip/" target="_blank">#slip</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/soft-matter/" target="_blank">#softMatter</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/solid-mechanics/" target="_blank">#solidMechanics</a>

Nicole SharpIo’s Missing Magma OceanIn the late 1970s, scientists conjectured that Io was likely a volcanic world, heated by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_heating" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">tidal forces</a> from Jupiter that squeeze it along its elliptical orbit. Only months later, images from Voyager 1’s flyby confirmed the moon’s volcanism. Magnetometer data from Galileo’s later flyby suggested that tidal heating had created a shallow magma ocean that powered the moon’s volcanic activity. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08442-5" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">newly analyzed data</a> from Juno’s flyby shows that Io doesn’t have a magma ocean after all.The new flyby used radio transmission data to measure any little wobbles that Io caused by tugging Juno off its expected course. The team expected a magma ocean to cause plenty of distortions for the spacecraft, but the effect was much slighter than expected. Their conclusion? Io has no magma ocean lurking under its crust. The results don’t preclude a deeper magma ocean, but at what point do you distinguish a magma ocean from a body’s liquid core?Instead, scientists are now exploring the possibility that Io’s magma shoots up from much smaller pockets of magma rather than one enormous, shared source. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/USGS; research credit: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08442-5" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">R. Park et al.</a>; see also <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/whats-going-on-inside-io-jupiters-volcanic-moon-20250425/?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Quanta</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/geophysics/" target="_blank">#geophysics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/io/" target="_blank">#Io</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/magma/" target="_blank">#magma</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/planetary-science/" target="_blank">#planetaryScience</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/subsurface-oceans/" target="_blank">#subsurfaceOceans</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/tidal-heating/" target="_blank">#tidalHeating</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/volcano/" target="_blank">#volcano</a>

Nicole Sharp“Droplet on a Plucked Wire” <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/drop_string1.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/drop_string2.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/drop_string3.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> What happens to a droplet hanging on a wire when the wire gets plucked? That’s the fundamental question behind this video, which shows the effects of wire speed, viscosity, and viscoelasticity on a drop’s detachment. With lovely high-speed video and close-up views, you get to appreciate even subtle differences between each drop. Capillary waves, viscoelastic waves, and Plateau-Rayleigh instabilities abound! (Video and image credit: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2024.GFM.V2691248" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">D. Maity et al.</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/2024gofm/" target="_blank">#2024gofm</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/droplets/" target="_blank">#droplets</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/viscoelasticity/" target="_blank">#viscoelasticity</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/viscous-flow/" target="_blank">#viscousFlow</a>

Nicole Sharp“C R Y S T A L S” <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/crystals3.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/crystals2.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/crystals1.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/crystals5.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/crystals4.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/crystals6.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> In “C R Y S T A L S,” filmmaker Thomas Blanchard captures the slow, inexorable growth of potassium phosphate crystals. He took over 150,000 images — one per minute — to document the way crystals formed as the originally transparent liquid evaporated. Some crystals branch into fractals. Others bulge outward like a condensing cloud or a sprouting mushroom. (Video and image credit: <a href="https://thomas-blanchard.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">T. Blanchard</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/crystal-growth/" target="_blank">#crystalGrowth</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/evaporation/" target="_blank">#evaporation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluids-as-art/" target="_blank">#fluidsAsArt</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/timelapse/" target="_blank">#timelapse</a>

Nicole SharpStunning Interstellar TurbulenceThe space between stars, known as the interstellar medium, may be sparse, but it is far from empty. Gas, dust, and plasma in this region forms compressible magnetized turbulence, with some pockets moving supersonically and others moving slower than sound. The flows here influence how stars form, how cosmic rays spread, and where metals and other planetary building blocks wind up. To better understand the physics of this region, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02551-5" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">researchers built</a> a numerical simulation with over 1,000 billion grid points, creating an unprecedentedly detailed picture of this turbulence.The images above are two-dimensional slices from the full 3D simulation. The upper image shows the current density while the lower one shows mass density. On the right side of the images, magnetic field lines are superimposed in white. The results are gorgeous. Can you imagine a fly-through video? (Image and research credit: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02551-5" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">J. Beattie et al.</a>; via <a href="https://gizmodo.com/most-detailed-simulation-of-magnetic-turbulence-in-space-is-surprisingly-beautiful-2000606528?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Gizmodo</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/astrophysics/" target="_blank">#astrophysics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/compressibility/" target="_blank">#compressibility</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/flow-visualization/" target="_blank">#flowVisualization</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluids-as-art/" target="_blank">#fluidsAsArt</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/magnetohydrodynamics/" target="_blank">#magnetohydrodynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/numerical-simulation/" target="_blank">#numericalSimulation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/turbulence/" target="_blank">#turbulence</a>

Nicole SharpCreating Liquid Landscapes <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/nis_intro1.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/nis_intro2.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/nis_intro3.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/nis_intro4.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/nis_intro5.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> <a class="" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/nis_intro6.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> Artist <a href="https://www.terracollage.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Roman De Giuli</a> 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 takes us behind the scenes to see how he creates these masterpieces — layering, washing, burning, and repeating to build up the paperscape that eventually hosts the flows we see recorded. The work is meticulous and slow, and the results are incredible. De Giuli’s videos never fail to transport me to a calmer, more pristine version of our world. I can’t wait to see the new series! (Video and image credit: <a href="https://www.terracollage.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">R. De Giuli</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/flow-visualization/" target="_blank">#flowVisualization</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluids-as-art/" target="_blank">#fluidsAsArt</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a>

Nicole SharpSeeking Uranus’s SpinUranus is one of our solar system’s oddest planets. An ice giant, it spins on its side. We originally estimated its rate of rotation using measurements from Voyager 2, the only spacecraft to have visited the planet. But that measurement was so imprecise that within two years, astronomers could no longer use it to predict where the planet’s poles were. Now a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02492-z" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">new study</a>, drawing on over a decade of Hubble observations of Uranus’s auroras, has pinned down the planet’s rotation rate far more precisely: 17 hours, 14 minutes, and 52 seconds. While that’s within the original measurement’s 36-second margin of error, the new measurement has a margin of error of only 0.036 seconds. In addition to helping plan a theoretical future Uranus mission, this more accurate rotation rate allows researchers to reexamine decades of data, now with certainty about the planet’s orientation at the time of the observation. (Image credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, L. Lamy, L. Sromovsky; research credit: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02492-z" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">L. Lamy et al.</a>; via <a href="https://gizmodo.com/a-long-held-assumption-about-uranus-just-got-upended-2000586293?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Gizmodo</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/astronomy/" target="_blank">#astronomy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/aurora/" target="_blank">#aurora</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/planetary-science/" target="_blank">#planetaryScience</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/uranus/" target="_blank">#Uranus</a>

DeWuytNew to Mastodon and excited to share moments like this—Caught this elegant trace of a wingtip vortex slicing through the sky—possibly the outer arc of a horseshoe vortex. These swirling trails reveal the invisible physics of lift in action!” <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/HorseshoeVortex" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#HorseshoeVortex</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/WingtipVortex" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WingtipVortex</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Aviation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Aviation</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Stormchasing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Stormchasing</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Skywatching" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Skywatching</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/FluidDynamics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#FluidDynamics</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Photography</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Introduction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Introduction</a>

Nicole SharpQuietening DronesA 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. This flow visualization, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yaAFLpLmVg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">courtesy of the Slow Mo Guys</a>, helps show why. The image above shows a standard off-the-shelf drone rotor. As each blade passes through the smoke, it sheds a wingtip vortex. (Note that these vortices are constantly coming off the blade, but we only see them where they intersect with the smoke.) As the blades go by, a constant stream of regularly-spaced vortices marches downstream of the rotor. This regular spacing creates the dominant acoustic frequency that we hear from the drone. Animation of wingtip vortices coming off a drone rotor with blades of different lengths. This causes interactions between the vortices, which helps disrupt the drone’s noise. To counter that, the company Wing uses a rotor with blades of different lengths (bottom image). This staggers the location of the shed vortices and causes some later vortices to spin up with their downstream neighbor. These interactions break up that regular spacing that generates the drone’s dominant acoustic frequency. Overall, that makes the drone sound quieter, likely without a large impact to the amount of lift it creates. (Image credit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yaAFLpLmVg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Slow Mo Guys</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/acoustics/" target="_blank">#acoustics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/flow-visualization/" target="_blank">#flowVisualization</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/propeller/" target="_blank">#propeller</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/propeller-vortex/" target="_blank">#propellerVortex</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/wingtip-vortices/" target="_blank">#wingtipVortices</a>

Nicole SharpClimate Change and the Equatorial Cold TongueA cold region of Pacific waters stretches westward along the equator from the coast of Ecuador. Known as the equatorial cold tongue, this region exists because trade winds push surface waters away from the equator and allow colder, deeper waters to surface. Previous climate models have predicted warming for this region, but instead we’ve observed cooling — or at least a resistance to warming. <a href="https://physics.aps.org/articles/v18/21?utm_campaign=weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailalert&__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Now researchers</a> using decades of data and new simulations report that the observed cooling trend is, in fact, a result of human-caused climate changes. Like the cold tongue itself, this new cooling comes from wind patterns that change ocean mixing.As pleasant as a cooling streak sounds, this trend has unfortunate consequences elsewhere. Scientists have found that this cooling has a direct effect on drought in East Africa and southwestern North America. (Image credit: J. Shoer; via <a href="https://physics.aps.org/articles/v18/21?utm_campaign=weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailalert&__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">APS News</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/atmospheric-science/" target="_blank">#atmosphericScience</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/climate-change/" target="_blank">#climateChange</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/oceanography/" target="_blank">#oceanography</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/planetary-science/" target="_blank">#planetaryScience</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a>

Nicole SharpBifurcating WaterwaysYour typical river has a single water basin and drains along a river or two on its way to the sea. But there are a handful of rivers and lakes that don’t obey our usual expectations. Some rivers flow in two directions. Some lakes have multiple outlets, each to a separate water basin. That means that water from a single lake can wind up in two entirely different bodies of water.The most famous example of these odd waterways is South America’s Casiquiare River, seen running north to south in the image above. This navigable river connects the Orinoco River (flowing east to west in this image) with the Rio Negro (not pictured). Since the Rio Negro eventually joins the Amazon, the Casiquiare River’s meandering, nearly-flat course connects the continent’s two largest basins: the Orinoco and the Amazon.For more strange waterways across the Americas, check out <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR039824" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">this review paper</a>, which describes a total of 9 such hydrological head-scratchers. (Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/observacao-da-terra/31909257768/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Coordenação-Geral de Observação da Terra/INPE</a>; research credit: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR039824" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">R. Sowby and A. Siegel</a>; via <a href="https://eos.org/research-spotlights/the-rivers-that-science-says-shouldnt-exist?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Eos</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/geophysics/" target="_blank">#geophysics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/rivers/" target="_blank">#rivers</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/surface-hydrology/" target="_blank">#surfaceHydrology</a>

Nicole SharpReclaiming the LandLava 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 that researchers are tackling. But the larger and faster the lava flow, the harder infrastructure is to protect. Sometimes our best efforts are simply overwhelmed by nature’s power. (Image credit: <a href="https://www.worldnaturephotographyawards.com/winners-2025" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">A. Kermarec/WNPA</a>; via <a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/03/2025-world-nature-photography-awards/?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Colossal</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluids-as-art/" target="_blank">#fluidsAsArt</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/geophysics/" target="_blank">#geophysics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/gravity-current/" target="_blank">#gravityCurrent</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/lava/" target="_blank">#lava</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/viscous-flow/" target="_blank">#viscousFlow</a>

Nicole SharpCrowd VorticesThe Feast of San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain draws crowds of thousands. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08514-6" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Scientists recently published</a> an analysis of the crowd motion in these dense gatherings. The team filmed the crowds at the festival from balconies overlooking the plaza in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Analyzing the footage, they discovered that at crowd densities above 4 people per square meter, the crowd begins to move in almost imperceptible eddies. In the animation below, lines trace out the path followed by single individuals in the crowd, showing the underlying “vortex.” At the plaza’s highest density — 9 people per square meter — one rotation of the vortex took about 18 seconds. The team found similar patterns in footage of the crowd at the 2010 Love Parade disaster, in which 21 people died. These patterns aren’t themselves an indicator of an unsafe crowd — none of the studied Pamplona crowds had a problem — but understanding the underlying dynamics should help planners recognize and prevent dangerous crowd behaviors before the start of a stampede. (Image credit: still – <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/people-on-gray-concrete-66BEYHtoWYY" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">San Fermín</a>, animation – Bartolo Lab; research credit: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08514-6" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">F. Gu et al.</a>; via <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00373-z?linkId=12807715&__readwiseLocation" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Nature</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/active-matter/" target="_blank">#activeMatter</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/collective-motion/" target="_blank">#collectiveMotion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/crowds/" target="_blank">#crowds</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/vortices/" target="_blank">#vortices</a>

Hacker NewsThe Mysterious Flow of Fluid in the Brain<a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mysterious-flow-of-fluid-in-the-brain-20250326/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mysterious-flow-of-fluid-in-the-brain-20250326/</a><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/HackerNews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#HackerNews</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/MysteriousBrainFlow" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#MysteriousBrainFlow</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/FluidDynamics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#FluidDynamics</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Neuroscience" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Neuroscience</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/QuantaMagazine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#QuantaMagazine</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/BrainResearch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#BrainResearch</a>

Nicole SharpA Stellar Look at NGC 602The young star cluster NGC 602 sits some 200,000 light years away in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Seen here in near- and mid-infrared, the cluster is a glowing cradle of star forming conditions similar to the early universe. A large nebula, made up of multicolored dust and gas, surrounds the star cluster. Its dusty finger-like pillars could be an example of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities or plumes shaped by energetic stellar jets. (Image credit: <a href="https://esawebb.org/images/weic2425a/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">NASA/ESA/CSA/JWST</a>; via <a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/10/ngc-602-image/?__readwiseLocation=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Colossal</a>)<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/astronomy/" target="_blank">#astronomy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank">#fluidDynamics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/fluids-as-art/" target="_blank">#fluidsAsArt</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/instability/" target="_blank">#instability</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/nebula/" target="_blank">#nebula</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/physics/" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/science/" target="_blank">#science</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://fyfluiddynamics.com/tagged/stellar-evolution/" target="_blank">#stellarEvolution</a>

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