fluid mechanics

11.22.09

Dyson's Bladeless Airfoil Desk Fan Ends the Menace of Choppy Air

By Stuart Fox Posted 10.13.2009 at 10:03 am 12 Comments

Ever since Schuyler Skaats Wheeler introduced the first axial-bladed electric desk fan in 1882, fan technology has remained remarkably conservative. But that classic bladed design wasn't good enough for the innovative people at Dyson. With their new desk fan, Dyson has thrown out over a hundred years of axial desk fan technology to create the first fan that provides a continuous stream of smooth air.

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READ MORE ABOUT > air multiplier, airfoils, appliance, desk fan, dyson, dyson air multiplier, fans, fluid mechanics, heat, lift, office, wings

Fluid Density and You

Before you jet off to your well-earned beach vacation, read this week's Breakdown

By Adam Weiner Posted 10.22.2008 at 11:36 am 1 Comment

If you've ever been in the ocean in the vicinity of large breaking waves and have been unfortunate enough to get steamrolled by a wall of whitewater, you may have noticed how much more difficult it is to get back up to the surface through the whitewater compared to smooth water. Why is this? While it may be due in part to the difficulty in "gripping" the aerated water (to pull yourself to the surface you have to apply a force downward against the water such that it pushes upward on you), it also has to do with a reduction in your buoyancy, due to the lower density of the whitewater.

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READ MORE ABOUT > fluid mechanics, swimming, water

How to Pour a Perfect Beer

A new beer-tap design incorporates the science of suds to deliver perfect pours round after round

By Gregory Mone Posted 09.21.2005 at 1:00 am 1 Comment

Great inventions are often responses to simple problems. For Matt Younkle, the problem was a discouragingly long line at his college bar. Ten years later, the thirst-inspired spark of frustration he felt then has resulted in Chicago-based Laminar Technologies´s TurboTap (turbotap.com), a 4.5-inch-long stainless-steel nozzle that attaches to standard beer faucets and pours a beer twice as fast as existing taps.

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