#gravitycurrent — Public Fediverse posts

Bigger Particles Slide Farther

Mudslides and avalanches typically carry debris of many shapes and sizes. To understand how debris size affects flows like these, researchers use simplified, laboratory-scale experiments like this one. Here, researchers mix a slurry of silicone oil and glass particles of roughly two sizes. The red particles are larger; the blue ones smaller. Sitting in a cup, the mixture tends to separate, with red particles sinking faster to form the bottom layer and smaller blue particles collecting on top. And what happens when such a mixture flows down an incline? The smaller blue particles tend to settle out sooner, leaving the larger red particles in suspension as they flow downstream. (Video and image credit: S. Burnett et al.)

#2024gofm #flowVisualization #fluidDynamics #gravityCurrent #particleSuspension #physics #science #suspension #viscousFlow

Reclaiming the Land

Lava floods human-made infrastructure on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula in this aerial image from photographer Ael Kermarec. Protecting roads and buildings from lava flows is a formidable challenge, but it’s one that researchers are tackling. But the larger and faster the lava flow, the harder infrastructure is to protect. Sometimes our best efforts are simply overwhelmed by nature’s power. (Image credit: A. Kermarec/WNPA; via Colossal)

#fluidDynamics #fluidsAsArt #geophysics #gravityCurrent #lava #physics #science #viscousFlow