Nicole Sharp
@nicolesharp.com
Author, aerospace engineer, science communicator. Writes with excessive enthusiasm about fluid physics at FYFD.
Winds from the north made for wild conditions at Nazaré in Portugal. Photographer Ben Thouard caught these crashing waves in the late afternoon, when the low sun angle illuminated the spray of the surf.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24942
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24942
November 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Winds from the north made for wild conditions at Nazaré in Portugal. Photographer Ben Thouard caught these crashing waves in the late afternoon, when the low sun angle illuminated the spray of the surf.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24942
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24942
Reposted by Nicole Sharp
To form planets, the dust and gas around a star has to start clumping up. While there are many theories as to how this could happen, it's a difficult process to observe. A recent study shows that a magnetorotational (MR) instability could do the job.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25337
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25337
November 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM
To form planets, the dust and gas around a star has to start clumping up. While there are many theories as to how this could happen, it's a difficult process to observe. A recent study shows that a magnetorotational (MR) instability could do the job.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25337
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25337
Reposted by Nicole Sharp
A craftsperson loves craft. Writing is craft. The people who practice it are into the process. People using AI don't have the SOUL of a craftsperson. They want an end result to stick their name on, that's it.
November 19, 2025 at 3:57 PM
A craftsperson loves craft. Writing is craft. The people who practice it are into the process. People using AI don't have the SOUL of a craftsperson. They want an end result to stick their name on, that's it.
At first glance, draining an ocean seems simple like a simple problem: just put a drain at the lowest point. But it's not quite that easy.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25151
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25151
November 19, 2025 at 5:01 PM
At first glance, draining an ocean seems simple like a simple problem: just put a drain at the lowest point. But it's not quite that easy.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25151
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25151
Even small changes to a meniscus can change how much wave energy passes through it. A new study systemically tests how meniscus size and shape affects the transmission of incoming waves.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25331
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25331
November 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Even small changes to a meniscus can change how much wave energy passes through it. A new study systemically tests how meniscus size and shape affects the transmission of incoming waves.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25331
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25331
We spend our lives dealing with fluids at a scale where the motion of individual molecules is beneath our notice. But once you are dealing with pipes that are small enough--below about 1 nanometer in diameter--fluids have to be considered molecule-by-molecule.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25349
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25349
November 17, 2025 at 5:01 PM
We spend our lives dealing with fluids at a scale where the motion of individual molecules is beneath our notice. But once you are dealing with pipes that are small enough--below about 1 nanometer in diameter--fluids have to be considered molecule-by-molecule.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25349
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25349
If you're used to seeing penguins on land, their speed and grace in the water can surprise. Penguins are even capable of extra bursts of speed through supercavitation.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24924
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24924
November 14, 2025 at 4:01 PM
If you're used to seeing penguins on land, their speed and grace in the water can surprise. Penguins are even capable of extra bursts of speed through supercavitation.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24924
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24924
Reposted by Nicole Sharp
Mathematicians recently built a “unified theory” of stalagmites, those dramatic spires that dot every subterranean landscape. 🧵
November 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Mathematicians recently built a “unified theory” of stalagmites, those dramatic spires that dot every subterranean landscape. 🧵
Onions are a well-known source of tears for many a cook. And while the chemical source of their power--onions release a chemical that reacts in our eyes to produce tears--has been known for years, no one has looked at the fluid dynamics in the process until now.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25438
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25438
November 13, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Onions are a well-known source of tears for many a cook. And while the chemical source of their power--onions release a chemical that reacts in our eyes to produce tears--has been known for years, no one has looked at the fluid dynamics in the process until now.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25438
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25438
For most of history, floating bridges have been temporary structures, often used by militaries crossing water, but over the course of the twentieth century, engineers learned to build more permanent floating bridges.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24831
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24831
November 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM
For most of history, floating bridges have been temporary structures, often used by militaries crossing water, but over the course of the twentieth century, engineers learned to build more permanent floating bridges.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24831
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24831
As humanity pumps more carbon and heat into the atmosphere, the oceans--and particularly the Southern Ocean--have been absorbing both. A new study looks ahead at what the long-term consequences of that could be.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25431
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25431
November 11, 2025 at 4:01 PM
As humanity pumps more carbon and heat into the atmosphere, the oceans--and particularly the Southern Ocean--have been absorbing both. A new study looks ahead at what the long-term consequences of that could be.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25431
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25431
Reposted by Nicole Sharp
Are you a scientist?
Is your research cool?
Do people not adequately appreciate how cool your research is?
I'm looking for researchers to feature in Q&A-style interviews on my blog and would love to hear from (or about — embarrass your friends!) scientists interested in sharing their work. 🧪
Is your research cool?
Do people not adequately appreciate how cool your research is?
I'm looking for researchers to feature in Q&A-style interviews on my blog and would love to hear from (or about — embarrass your friends!) scientists interested in sharing their work. 🧪
November 10, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Are you a scientist?
Is your research cool?
Do people not adequately appreciate how cool your research is?
I'm looking for researchers to feature in Q&A-style interviews on my blog and would love to hear from (or about — embarrass your friends!) scientists interested in sharing their work. 🧪
Is your research cool?
Do people not adequately appreciate how cool your research is?
I'm looking for researchers to feature in Q&A-style interviews on my blog and would love to hear from (or about — embarrass your friends!) scientists interested in sharing their work. 🧪
Fluid dynamics often comes down to a competition between the different forces acting in a flow. Inertia, surface tension, viscosity, gravity, rotation -- flows can be affected by all of these and more.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25240
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25240
November 10, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Fluid dynamics often comes down to a competition between the different forces acting in a flow. Inertia, surface tension, viscosity, gravity, rotation -- flows can be affected by all of these and more.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25240
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25240
This doesn't *quite* capture my current stage, but it resonates nevertheless.
It's a real trip figuring out how to manage an all-consuming project when absolutely nothing in your life allows you to sink yourself in one thing.
It's a real trip figuring out how to manage an all-consuming project when absolutely nothing in your life allows you to sink yourself in one thing.
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
This doesn't *quite* capture my current stage, but it resonates nevertheless.
It's a real trip figuring out how to manage an all-consuming project when absolutely nothing in your life allows you to sink yourself in one thing.
It's a real trip figuring out how to manage an all-consuming project when absolutely nothing in your life allows you to sink yourself in one thing.
Frost forms hexagonal columns on a wooden rail in this microphotograph by Gregory B. Murray.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25392
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25392
November 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Frost forms hexagonal columns on a wooden rail in this microphotograph by Gregory B. Murray.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25392
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25392
Scientists have unveiled the sharpest images ever captured of a solar flare. Taken by the Inouye Solar Telescope, the image includes coronal loop strands as small as 48 kilometers wide and 21 kilometers thick--the smallest ones ever imaged.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25344
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25344
November 6, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Scientists have unveiled the sharpest images ever captured of a solar flare. Taken by the Inouye Solar Telescope, the image includes coronal loop strands as small as 48 kilometers wide and 21 kilometers thick--the smallest ones ever imaged.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25344
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25344
Off western Australian, hundreds of low-lying islands and coral reefs jut into the ocean as part of the Buccaneer Archipelago. Tides here have a range of nearly 12 meters, so water rips through the narrow channels as the tide ebbs and flows.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24861
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24861
November 5, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Off western Australian, hundreds of low-lying islands and coral reefs jut into the ocean as part of the Buccaneer Archipelago. Tides here have a range of nearly 12 meters, so water rips through the narrow channels as the tide ebbs and flows.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24861
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24861
To understand how changing sea ice affects climate, researchers need to tease out the mechanisms that affect sea ice over its lifetime. A new study does just that, showing that sea ice loses salt as it ages, in a process that makes it less porous.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25082
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25082
November 4, 2025 at 4:01 PM
To understand how changing sea ice affects climate, researchers need to tease out the mechanisms that affect sea ice over its lifetime. A new study does just that, showing that sea ice loses salt as it ages, in a process that makes it less porous.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25082
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25082
Although wind turbines can have any number of blades, most that we see have three. The reasons for that are many, as explained today's Minute Physics video.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25099
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25099
November 3, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Although wind turbines can have any number of blades, most that we see have three. The reasons for that are many, as explained today's Minute Physics video.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25099
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25099
Photographer Daniele Borsari captured this gorgeous composite image of nebulas in black and white, emphasizing the motion underlying the gas and dust.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25163
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25163
October 31, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Photographer Daniele Borsari captured this gorgeous composite image of nebulas in black and white, emphasizing the motion underlying the gas and dust.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25163
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25163
In kirigami, careful cuts to a flat surface can morph it into a more complicated shape. Researchers have been exploring how to use this in combination with flow; now they've created a new form of parachute.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25243
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25243
October 30, 2025 at 4:02 PM
In kirigami, careful cuts to a flat surface can morph it into a more complicated shape. Researchers have been exploring how to use this in combination with flow; now they've created a new form of parachute.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25243
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25243
There's a simultaneous thrill and dread when reading a paper's literature review doubles the number of articles in your Zotero folder. #bookwriting #scicomm
October 30, 2025 at 2:13 PM
There's a simultaneous thrill and dread when reading a paper's literature review doubles the number of articles in your Zotero folder. #bookwriting #scicomm
Today's video shows red blood cells flowing through a capillary network in a rat's skeletal muscle.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25195
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25195
October 29, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Today's video shows red blood cells flowing through a capillary network in a rat's skeletal muscle.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25195
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25195
Today is the kind of day where my reading jumps from how a flock of hungry sheep passes through a barn door to how manta rays filter their food without ever clogging. #bookwriting is wild, folks #scicomm
October 29, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Today is the kind of day where my reading jumps from how a flock of hungry sheep passes through a barn door to how manta rays filter their food without ever clogging. #bookwriting is wild, folks #scicomm