Browse Physics

Simulations show that fluid could potentially be pumped in a complete circuit through a nanometer-sized tube if its surface properties are manipulated and it’s heated in the right places.

Simulations show that when a particle trapped in a fluid-filled pipe moves, it can affect distant particles in the pipe and even pull them in the opposite direction.

The patterns in two spinning tanks of fluid representing different parts of the Earth’s atmosphere can synchronize with only a small amount of thermal coupling, suggesting that heat flow can transmit weather cycles over long distances.

Experiments show that swimming microorganisms can change a fluid’s viscosity. Not all of the effects can be explained by current theories.

Heat and a magnetic field cause liquid lithium to swirl rapidly, an effect that could be useful in fusion reactors.

A combination of simulations and experiments explicitly demonstrates that common chemical reactions can drive convection flows in fluids.

A new technique provides a 3-D view of the organized motion of swimming bacteria.

Focused vibrations can cause a liquid drop on a surface to erupt into a vertical jet, a phenomenon that may lead to improved biomedical devices and inkjet printers.

A tilted, rotating magnetic field causes magnetizable beads in a fluid to assemble into chains that efficiently stir the mixture–a scheme that might be used in chemical processing of tiny volumes.

Water containing specialized nanoparticles can transport heat at two different rates, depending on the initial configuration of the particles. An improved version of this system could help regulate heat flow in devices.

The thin stream kicked up by dropping an object in water results from a kind of squirting action by the fluid, according to experiments and simulations.

Computer simulations reveal a new type of wave structure that may appear in the banded flows of giant planets, or even Earth’s oceans.

The rotational flow of fluid in a heated tank containing some heavy beads periodically reverses direction, mimicking some aspects of the motion of Earth’s continents over geologic time.

A tank of stirred liquid sodium generates a magnetic field even though it’s highly turbulent–a condition closer to real dynamos in planets, stars, and galaxies, but harder to simulate in the lab.

The radiation emitted at the edge of a black hole might exist even if the hole doesn’t possess an “event horizon” from which nothing can escape.

Computer simulations show a new way to rapidly generate large, lone ocean waves that have occasionally sunk ships.

Researchers measured how heat flows within a fluid undergoing rapid convection, a process that occurs in the atmosphere and in stars.

In a wind tunnel, a plate’s surface irregularities can suppress air turbulence, suggesting possible improvements for airplane wings.

A simple nanomachine propels itself through liquid simply by changing its length.

Researchers have created a laser-light-powered microjet smaller than the width of a human hair.