Nicole Sharp
@nicolesharp.com
Author, aerospace engineer, science communicator. Writes with excessive enthusiasm about fluid physics at FYFD.
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
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
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
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
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
As the implications of climate change grow more dire, interest in geoengineering--trying to technologically counter or mitigate climate change--grows. #climatechange #fluiddynamics #geoengineering #science
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25318
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25318
October 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
As the implications of climate change grow more dire, interest in geoengineering--trying to technologically counter or mitigate climate change--grows. #climatechange #fluiddynamics #geoengineering #science
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25318
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25318
The loud noises of construction are not just an issue for humans. Sound and pressure waves from underwater construction are a problem for water-dwellers, too.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25141
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25141
October 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The loud noises of construction are not just an issue for humans. Sound and pressure waves from underwater construction are a problem for water-dwellers, too.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25141
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25141
As children, most of us plant a seed or two and watch it sprout, but we never get a view quite like this one. #biology #fluiddynamics #physics #plants #science
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25192
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25192
October 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM
As children, most of us plant a seed or two and watch it sprout, but we never get a view quite like this one. #biology #fluiddynamics #physics #plants #science
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25192
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25192
Look beneath the waves on a beach or in a bay, and you'll find ripples in the sand. Passing waves shape these sandforms and can even build them to heights that require dredging to keep waterways passable to large ships.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25077
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25077
October 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Look beneath the waves on a beach or in a bay, and you'll find ripples in the sand. Passing waves shape these sandforms and can even build them to heights that require dredging to keep waterways passable to large ships.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25077
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25077
Ngangla Ringco sits atop the Tibetan Plateau, breaking up the barren landscape with eye-catching teal and blue. This saline lake sits at an altitude of 4,700 meters, fed by rainfall, Himalayan runoff, and melting glaciers and permafrost.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24366
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24366
October 23, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Ngangla Ringco sits atop the Tibetan Plateau, breaking up the barren landscape with eye-catching teal and blue. This saline lake sits at an altitude of 4,700 meters, fed by rainfall, Himalayan runoff, and melting glaciers and permafrost.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24366
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24366
When a strong earthquake causes liquefaction, sand can intrude upward, leaving behind a feature that resembles an upside-down icicle. Known as a sand dike, researchers suspected that these intrusions could help us date ancient earthquakes.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25261
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25261
October 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
When a strong earthquake causes liquefaction, sand can intrude upward, leaving behind a feature that resembles an upside-down icicle. Known as a sand dike, researchers suspected that these intrusions could help us date ancient earthquakes.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25261
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25261
In an earthquake, sand and soil particles get jostled together, forcing any water between them up toward the surface. The result is liquefaction.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25253
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25253
October 20, 2025 at 4:00 PM
In an earthquake, sand and soil particles get jostled together, forcing any water between them up toward the surface. The result is liquefaction.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25253
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25253
A colorful assortment of salts dissolve and recrystallize in this microscopic timelapse video by retired engineer Jay McClellan. Every step is a gorgeous rainbow of color as the cobalt, copper, and sodium chlorides dissolve, mix, and change.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25210
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25210
October 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM
A colorful assortment of salts dissolve and recrystallize in this microscopic timelapse video by retired engineer Jay McClellan. Every step is a gorgeous rainbow of color as the cobalt, copper, and sodium chlorides dissolve, mix, and change.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25210
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25210
In the 1920s, the world saw a new sort of marine propulsion, ships with one or more tall, smokeless cylinders. These Flettner rotors, named for their inventor, would spin in the wind, generating lift to propel the boat, much as a sail would.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25039
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25039
October 16, 2025 at 4:00 PM
In the 1920s, the world saw a new sort of marine propulsion, ships with one or more tall, smokeless cylinders. These Flettner rotors, named for their inventor, would spin in the wind, generating lift to propel the boat, much as a sail would.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25039
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25039
Although they're iconic, arch dams like the Hoover Dam are relatively unusual. In today'sPractical Engineering video, Grady looks at the forces a dam needs to withstand and where and why an arch dam is useful. #civilengineering #physics #science
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24817
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24817
October 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Although they're iconic, arch dams like the Hoover Dam are relatively unusual. In today'sPractical Engineering video, Grady looks at the forces a dam needs to withstand and where and why an arch dam is useful. #civilengineering #physics #science
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24817
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=24817
Transferring cargo between ships and landing aircraft on carriers requires predicting how the waves will behave for the next few minutes. #fluiddynamics #nonlineardynamics #physics #science
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25215
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25215
October 14, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Transferring cargo between ships and landing aircraft on carriers requires predicting how the waves will behave for the next few minutes. #fluiddynamics #nonlineardynamics #physics #science
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25215
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25215
Fall into our nearest star in this gorgeous high-resolution view of the Sun. Taken by Solar Orbiter, a joint NASA-ESA mission, the image stretches from the fiery photosphere -- full of filaments and prominences -- to the wispy yet unbelievably hot corona.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=23960
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=23960
October 13, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Fall into our nearest star in this gorgeous high-resolution view of the Sun. Taken by Solar Orbiter, a joint NASA-ESA mission, the image stretches from the fiery photosphere -- full of filaments and prominences -- to the wispy yet unbelievably hot corona.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=23960
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=23960