Related papers: Termite mounds harness diurnal temperature oscilla…
The ventilation of carbon dioxide within subterranean caves regulates the growth of speleothems --- mineral deposits found in caves that provide important clues about past climate. While previous studies have used internal temperature…
Plants synthesize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to attract pollinators and beneficial microorganisms, to defend themselves against herbivores and pathogens and for plant-plant communication. Generally, accumulation and emission of VOCs…
Rings and gaps are ubiquitous in protoplanetary disks. Larger dust grains will concentrate in gaseous rings more compactly due to stronger aerodynamic drag. However, the effects of dust concentration on the ring's thermal structure have not…
Abridged: We study the properties of clumps formed in three-dimensional weakly magnetized magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of converging flows in the thermally bistable, warm neutral medium (WNM). We find that: (1) Similarly to the…
Insects use flight muscles attached at the base of the wings to produce impressive wing flapping frequencies. The maximum power output of these flight muscles is insufficient to maintain such wing oscillations unless there is good elastic…
In this work we present laboratory measurements on the reduction of the threshold friction velocity necessary for lifting dust if the dust bed is illuminated. Insolation of a porous soil establishes a temperature gradient. At low ambient…
Here we report a robust thermal anemometer which can be easily built. It was conceived to measure outdoor wind speeds, and for airspeed monitoring in wind tunnels and other indoor uses. It works at a constant, low temperature of…
Thousands of fungal species rely on mushroom spores to spread across landscapes. It has long been thought that spores depend on favorable airflows for dispersal -- that active control of spore dispersal by the parent fungus is limited to an…
The living-together of distinct organisms in a single termite nest along with the termite builder colony, is emblematic in its ecological and evolutionary significance. On top of preserving biodiversity, these interspecific and…
A pathway to the formation of planetesimals, and eventually giant planets, may occur in concentrations of dust grains trapped in pressure maxima. Dramatic crescent-shaped dust concentrations have been seen in recent radio images at sub-mm…
Vibration-based flow energy harvesting enables robust, in-situ energy extraction for low-power applications, such as distributed sensor networks. Fluid-structure instabilities dictate a harvester's viability since the structural response to…
The wings of Lepidoptera contain a matrix of living cells whose function requires appropriate temperatures. However, given their small thermal capacity, wings can overheat rapidly in the sun. Here we analyze butterfly wings across a wide…
Cord-forming fungi form extensive networks that continuously adapt to maintain an efficient transport system. As osmotically driven water uptake is often distal from the tips, and aqueous fluids are incompressible, we propose that growth…
We investigate the efficacy of turbulent fountains as a tool for frost mitigation and pollution control in stratified ambient fluids. By examining the interaction between the ejected fountain fluid and the lower atmospheric layers, we…
Locomotion emerges from effective interactions of an individual with its environment. Principles of biological terrestrial locomotion have been discovered on unconfined vertical and horizontal substrates. However a diversity of organisms…
The study of energy harvesting in chain-like structures is important due to its relevance to a variety of interesting physical systems. Harvesting is understood as the combination of exciton transport through intra-band exciton relaxation…
Naturally ventilated buildings harness freely-available resources such as internal buoyancy gains and wind forcing in achieving comfortable interior conditions. Although these resources are free, they are time-variable and can be difficult…
In laboratory experiments we observe dust aggregates from 100 \mu m to 1 cm in size composed of micrometer sized grains levitating over a hot surface. Depending on the dust sample aggregates start to levitate at a temperature of 400 K.…
Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) are subjected to platform motion induced by wind and wave loads. The oscillatory movement trigger vortex instabilities, modifying the wake structure, influencing the flow reaching downstream wind…
The current study uses large eddy simulations to investigate the transient response of a utility-scale wind turbine wake to dynamic changes in atmospheric and operational conditions, as observed in previous field-scale measurements. Most…