The sinking bubbles in Guinness and stouts in general have intrigued drinkers and scientists alike. Research into this phenomena has been highlighted before on this blog (post linked here). The latest research published in arxiv (academic paper linked here) demonstrates the importance of the shape of the glass in generating the fluid circulation necessary for the creation of the sinking bubbles. Numerical simulations and experimentation show that the standard pint glass which has a narrower base cause the falling bubble effect whereas a glass that has a larger base does not i.e. results in rising bubbles. Essentially the small (nitrogen, as opposed to carbon dioxide used in most beers) bubbles are being carried along by the local fluid motion in the glass and the shape of the glass influences the circulation of the beer as it is poured determining a sinking or rising bubble effect. More explanation is provided in a BBC news article here.
Research
May 29, 2012
Guinness bubbles
Posted by sampimentel under Beer, Fluid Dynamics, Mathematics, Research, Science | Tags: Beer, Bubbles, fluid dynamics, Guinness, mathematics, science, Stout |Leave a Comment
May 29, 2012
Climate models deconstructed
Posted by sampimentel under Climate, climate change, Research, Science | Tags: climate, climate model, UK Met Office |Leave a Comment
May 12, 2012
Planet Earth
Posted by sampimentel under Environmental Conscience, Research, Science | Tags: Earth, Planet Earth, satellite image, satellite photo |Leave a Comment
Here is our wonderful planet (or the northern hemisphere part at least!). Images taken from the Russian Elcctro-L satellite every 30 minutes are stitched together to make this video.
The geostationary weather satellite takes the highest resolution images of our planet, they are single shot photos. The images consist of visible and near-infrared wavelengths (e.g. vegetation is red not as the human eye sees it).
More details are provided here.
May 11, 2012
The Amazon Flows into the Atlantic
Posted by sampimentel under Climate, Fluid Dynamics, Oceanography, Research, Science | Tags: Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean, fluid dynamics, Ocean, ocean circulation, ocean current, Ocean model, oceanography, sea surface temperature |Leave a Comment
Here is another beautiful movie showing ocean fluid patterns (previous post here). This time we have a numerical simulation of the discharge of fresh water from the Amazon River entering the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean model (Mercator Ocean) simulates sea surface temperatures over a 3 year period.
May 2, 2012
Wind Flow Patterns
Posted by sampimentel under Fluid Dynamics, Meteorology, Research, Science, Uncategorized | Tags: fluid dynamics, Meteorology, science art, science imagery, weather, wind, wind patterns |1 Comment
A few weeks ago I posted on a stunning video capturing computer simulated ocean current patterns. Today I’m posting on surface wind flow patterns over the contiguous United States. Both show the visual beauty of these large-scale fluid flow patterns. You have to follow this link to view live moving imagery which is based on near-term surface wind forecasts. Do check out the moving fields, but shown below are some snap shots showing some of the patterns that get generated.
March 21, 2012
A modest academic triumph
Posted by sampimentel under Glaciers, Glaciology, Mathematics, Research, Science | Tags: academic journal, academic profile, achievement, citation metric, Glaciology, ice-flow modelling, journal paper, royal society, science, subglacial hydrology, top ten |Leave a Comment
Apparently my Royal Society article of last year was the journals (Proceeding A) most cited paper of 2011 and the 8th most downloaded. The illustrious top-ten are listed here: http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/site/misc/top_ten.xhtml Anyway the prize for this accomplishment is that the complete article is freely available online through 2012 (i.e. no journal pay-wall). So please go ahead and have a look – download and cite the paper some more!
A numerical study of hydrologically driven glacier dynamics and subglacial flooding by Sam Pimentel and Gwenn E. Flowers