Nicole Sharp
@nicolesharp.com
Author, aerospace engineer, science communicator. Writes with excessive enthusiasm about fluid physics at FYFD.
Glacier-fed rivers are often rich in colorful sediments. Here, photographer Jan Erik Waider shows us Iceland's glacial rivers flowing primarily in shades of blue.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27047
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27047
January 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Glacier-fed rivers are often rich in colorful sediments. Here, photographer Jan Erik Waider shows us Iceland's glacial rivers flowing primarily in shades of blue.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27047
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27047
For decades, biologists have focused on genetics as the key determiner for biological processes, but genetic signals alone do not explain every process.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26142
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26142
January 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM
For decades, biologists have focused on genetics as the key determiner for biological processes, but genetic signals alone do not explain every process.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26142
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26142
Back in May 2020, the Edenville Dam in Michigan failed dramatically, releasing flood waters that destroyed a downstream dam and caused millions of dollars of damage.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=17327
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=17327
January 7, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Back in May 2020, the Edenville Dam in Michigan failed dramatically, releasing flood waters that destroyed a downstream dam and caused millions of dollars of damage.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=17327
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=17327
As children, we're taught that there are three distinct phases of matter--solid, liquid, and gas--but the reality is somewhat more complicated.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26887
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26887
January 6, 2026 at 5:00 PM
As children, we're taught that there are three distinct phases of matter--solid, liquid, and gas--but the reality is somewhat more complicated.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26887
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26887
High-speed cameras are an amazing tool in fluid dynamics, but they come with a whole host of challenges. Here, researchers explore event-based cameras instead.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26711
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26711
January 5, 2026 at 5:00 PM
High-speed cameras are an amazing tool in fluid dynamics, but they come with a whole host of challenges. Here, researchers explore event-based cameras instead.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26711
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26711
Taken from a Cessna aircraft, photographer J. Fritz Rumpf's image of a Brazilian landscape appears abstract. But it captures a serpentine river and surrounding dunes, dyed brown by decaying plant matter and sculpted by the forces of wind and current.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26676
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26676
January 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Taken from a Cessna aircraft, photographer J. Fritz Rumpf's image of a Brazilian landscape appears abstract. But it captures a serpentine river and surrounding dunes, dyed brown by decaying plant matter and sculpted by the forces of wind and current.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26676
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26676
Happy 2026! It's time for a look back at the Best of FYFD 2025.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27026
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27026
January 1, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Happy 2026! It's time for a look back at the Best of FYFD 2025.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27026
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27026
Engineering classes often discuss hydrostatics--the physics of non-moving water--before they cover fluid dynamics and its flows. But hydrostatics is plenty challenging on its own.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25985
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25985
December 31, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Engineering classes often discuss hydrostatics--the physics of non-moving water--before they cover fluid dynamics and its flows. But hydrostatics is plenty challenging on its own.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25985
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25985
When a fluid coats the inner walls of a cylinder, it can move downward in what's called a collar flow. In our airways, a sinking collar flow can thicken as it falls, eventually blocking the airway completely.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25585
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25585
December 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
When a fluid coats the inner walls of a cylinder, it can move downward in what's called a collar flow. In our airways, a sinking collar flow can thicken as it falls, eventually blocking the airway completely.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25585
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25585
When droplets flow through a forest of microfluidic posts, they can deform around the obstacle or break up into smaller droplets. Here, researchers explore the factors that control the outcome, as well as when droplets collide, coalesce, and mix.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26731
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26731
December 29, 2025 at 5:01 PM
When droplets flow through a forest of microfluidic posts, they can deform around the obstacle or break up into smaller droplets. Here, researchers explore the factors that control the outcome, as well as when droplets collide, coalesce, and mix.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26731
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26731
Bubbles caught in ice resemble the growth of a cellular organism in this photograph of Tatiewa Lake in Japan, taken by Soichiro Moriyama.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26693
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26693
December 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Bubbles caught in ice resemble the growth of a cellular organism in this photograph of Tatiewa Lake in Japan, taken by Soichiro Moriyama.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26693
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26693
Ripple bugs are a type of water strider capable of moving at a blazing fast 120 body lengths per second across the water surface. In addition to their speed, ripple bugs are incredibly agile and are active almost constantly.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25603
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25603
December 25, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Ripple bugs are a type of water strider capable of moving at a blazing fast 120 body lengths per second across the water surface. In addition to their speed, ripple bugs are incredibly agile and are active almost constantly.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25603
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25603
Once a breeze kicks up, leaves on a tree start dancing. Every tree's leaves have their own shapes, some of which appear very different from other trees. But their dances have patterns, as today's video shows.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26596
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26596
December 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Once a breeze kicks up, leaves on a tree start dancing. Every tree's leaves have their own shapes, some of which appear very different from other trees. But their dances have patterns, as today's video shows.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26596
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26596
Strong seasonal winds blowing from the Atlantic typically push water away from Panama's Pacific coast, allowing deeper, colder waters to rise up. This upwelling cools reefs and feeds phytoplankton blooms, both of which support the rich marine life found there.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26158
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26158
December 23, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Strong seasonal winds blowing from the Atlantic typically push water away from Panama's Pacific coast, allowing deeper, colder waters to rise up. This upwelling cools reefs and feeds phytoplankton blooms, both of which support the rich marine life found there.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26158
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26158
There are many shapes that can be tiled to fill space, but nearly all of them have sharp corners. Last year, mathematicians identified a new class of shapes, known as "soft cells," that feature curved edges and faces but very few sharp corners.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26204
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26204
December 22, 2025 at 5:01 PM
There are many shapes that can be tiled to fill space, but nearly all of them have sharp corners. Last year, mathematicians identified a new class of shapes, known as "soft cells," that feature curved edges and faces but very few sharp corners.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26204
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26204
Strong winds blew curtains of mist across Skógafoss in this image of nesting northern fulmars by photographer Stefan Gerrits.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25426
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25426
December 19, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Strong winds blew curtains of mist across Skógafoss in this image of nesting northern fulmars by photographer Stefan Gerrits.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25426
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25426
Hummingbirds and many insects hover when feeding, escaping predators, and mating. While scientists have decoded the mechanics of a hummingbird's figure-8-like hovering wingstroke, it's been harder to understand how the creatures control their hovering.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25998
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25998
December 18, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Hummingbirds and many insects hover when feeding, escaping predators, and mating. While scientists have decoded the mechanics of a hummingbird's figure-8-like hovering wingstroke, it's been harder to understand how the creatures control their hovering.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25998
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25998
A few years ago, researchers described how an alcohol-water droplet atop an oil bath could pull itself apart through surface tension forces. Now, researchers look what happens with a little added surfactant.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26516
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26516
December 17, 2025 at 5:01 PM
A few years ago, researchers described how an alcohol-water droplet atop an oil bath could pull itself apart through surface tension forces. Now, researchers look what happens with a little added surfactant.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26516
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26516
Micrometer-sized particles can be trapped in place against a flow using acoustic waves. But smaller nano-sized particles feel less radiation pressure from acoustic waves, and so keep moving in the flow.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25574
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25574
December 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Micrometer-sized particles can be trapped in place against a flow using acoustic waves. But smaller nano-sized particles feel less radiation pressure from acoustic waves, and so keep moving in the flow.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25574
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25574
With a depth of nearly 600 meters, Crater Lake in Oregon is the deepest lake in the United States. It's known for its brilliant blue hue and startling clarity. But, like other deep lakes, Crater Lake is changing as temperatures warm.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26475
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26475
December 15, 2025 at 5:01 PM
With a depth of nearly 600 meters, Crater Lake in Oregon is the deepest lake in the United States. It's known for its brilliant blue hue and startling clarity. But, like other deep lakes, Crater Lake is changing as temperatures warm.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26475
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26475
It's hard to preserve something as ephemeral as a snowflake, as seen in this microphotograph by Michael Robert Peres.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25390
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25390
December 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM
It's hard to preserve something as ephemeral as a snowflake, as seen in this microphotograph by Michael Robert Peres.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25390
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25390
Adding just a little polymer to a pipe flow speeds it up by reducing drag near the wall. But the effects on turbulence away from the wall have been harder to suss out.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25449
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25449
December 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Adding just a little polymer to a pipe flow speeds it up by reducing drag near the wall. But the effects on turbulence away from the wall have been harder to suss out.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25449
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25449
Instruments aboard NASA's PACE mission are able to distinguish far more about phytoplankton blooms than previous satellites. This image shows chlorophyll concentrations in the Norwegian Sea in July 2025.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25031
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25031
December 10, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Instruments aboard NASA's PACE mission are able to distinguish far more about phytoplankton blooms than previous satellites. This image shows chlorophyll concentrations in the Norwegian Sea in July 2025.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25031
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25031
As humanity pumps carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the ocean absorbs about a quarter of it. This exchange happens largely through bubbles created by breaking waves.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26003
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26003
December 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
As humanity pumps carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the ocean absorbs about a quarter of it. This exchange happens largely through bubbles created by breaking waves.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26003
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26003