Nicole Sharp
@nicolesharp.com
Author, aerospace engineer, science communicator. Writes with excessive enthusiasm about fluid physics at FYFD.
Large-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations face many challenges. Among them is the need to capture both large physical scales--like those of Earth's atmospheric boundary layer--and small scales--like those of tiny eddies moving around a wind-turbine blade.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26896
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26896
January 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Large-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations face many challenges. Among them is the need to capture both large physical scales--like those of Earth's atmospheric boundary layer--and small scales--like those of tiny eddies moving around a wind-turbine blade.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26896
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26896
Inside a fusion reactor, magnetically-contained plasma gets heated to more than one hundred million degrees. That heat, researchers observed, spreads much faster than originally predicted. Now a team from Japan has measurements showing how turbulence manages this feat.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27061
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27061
January 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Inside a fusion reactor, magnetically-contained plasma gets heated to more than one hundred million degrees. That heat, researchers observed, spreads much faster than originally predicted. Now a team from Japan has measurements showing how turbulence manages this feat.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27061
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27061
When placed on a vibrating oil bath, droplets have many wild behaviors, some of which mirror quantum mechanics. Even big droplets -- bigger than 2 millimeters in diameter -- can get in on the fun.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26495
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26495
January 12, 2026 at 5:00 PM
When placed on a vibrating oil bath, droplets have many wild behaviors, some of which mirror quantum mechanics. Even big droplets -- bigger than 2 millimeters in diameter -- can get in on the fun.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26495
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26495
Glacier-fed rivers are often rich in colorful sediments. Here, photographer Jan Erik Waider shows us Iceland's glacial rivers flowing primarily in shades of blue.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27047
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27047
January 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Glacier-fed rivers are often rich in colorful sediments. Here, photographer Jan Erik Waider shows us Iceland's glacial rivers flowing primarily in shades of blue.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27047
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27047
I hate that they've claimed sparkles.
January 9, 2026 at 12:12 PM
I hate that they've claimed sparkles.
You wouldn't think that reading physics research is tough, but when it pertains to COVID, well, it can get rough.
January 8, 2026 at 10:50 PM
You wouldn't think that reading physics research is tough, but when it pertains to COVID, well, it can get rough.
For decades, biologists have focused on genetics as the key determiner for biological processes, but genetic signals alone do not explain every process.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26142
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26142
January 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM
For decades, biologists have focused on genetics as the key determiner for biological processes, but genetic signals alone do not explain every process.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26142
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26142
Glad the re-read is going well! Personally, I'm looking at my deadline and in gotta-write-those-last-3-chapters mode. Not helped by having to read research that's emotionally draining.
January 8, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Glad the re-read is going well! Personally, I'm looking at my deadline and in gotta-write-those-last-3-chapters mode. Not helped by having to read research that's emotionally draining.
Back in May 2020, the Edenville Dam in Michigan failed dramatically, releasing flood waters that destroyed a downstream dam and caused millions of dollars of damage.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=17327
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=17327
January 7, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Back in May 2020, the Edenville Dam in Michigan failed dramatically, releasing flood waters that destroyed a downstream dam and caused millions of dollars of damage.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=17327
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=17327
As children, we're taught that there are three distinct phases of matter--solid, liquid, and gas--but the reality is somewhat more complicated.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26887
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26887
January 6, 2026 at 5:00 PM
As children, we're taught that there are three distinct phases of matter--solid, liquid, and gas--but the reality is somewhat more complicated.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26887
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26887
High-speed cameras are an amazing tool in fluid dynamics, but they come with a whole host of challenges. Here, researchers explore event-based cameras instead.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26711
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26711
January 5, 2026 at 5:00 PM
High-speed cameras are an amazing tool in fluid dynamics, but they come with a whole host of challenges. Here, researchers explore event-based cameras instead.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26711
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26711
You won't regret getting it! He does a great job of laying out their arguments, and holy wow are they bad at math and ethics and uncertainty analysis.
January 3, 2026 at 2:10 PM
You won't regret getting it! He does a great job of laying out their arguments, and holy wow are they bad at math and ethics and uncertainty analysis.
Utilitarian math where they argue that it's better to take actions that enable 10^40 future human lives than it is to save actual living humans now.
It is... not convincing, to me at least. 2/2
It is... not convincing, to me at least. 2/2
January 3, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Utilitarian math where they argue that it's better to take actions that enable 10^40 future human lives than it is to save actual living humans now.
It is... not convincing, to me at least. 2/2
It is... not convincing, to me at least. 2/2
Adam Becker's "More Everything Forever" touches on this. The effective altruists and longtermists view climate change as something that has only the slightest risk of ending the human species, whereas getting off Earth is "necessary" for long term survival. They have some highly questionable 1/
January 3, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Adam Becker's "More Everything Forever" touches on this. The effective altruists and longtermists view climate change as something that has only the slightest risk of ending the human species, whereas getting off Earth is "necessary" for long term survival. They have some highly questionable 1/
Taken from a Cessna aircraft, photographer J. Fritz Rumpf's image of a Brazilian landscape appears abstract. But it captures a serpentine river and surrounding dunes, dyed brown by decaying plant matter and sculpted by the forces of wind and current.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26676
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26676
January 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Taken from a Cessna aircraft, photographer J. Fritz Rumpf's image of a Brazilian landscape appears abstract. But it captures a serpentine river and surrounding dunes, dyed brown by decaying plant matter and sculpted by the forces of wind and current.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26676
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26676
Happy 2026! It's time for a look back at the Best of FYFD 2025.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27026
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27026
January 1, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Happy 2026! It's time for a look back at the Best of FYFD 2025.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27026
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=27026
Engineering classes often discuss hydrostatics--the physics of non-moving water--before they cover fluid dynamics and its flows. But hydrostatics is plenty challenging on its own.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25985
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25985
December 31, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Engineering classes often discuss hydrostatics--the physics of non-moving water--before they cover fluid dynamics and its flows. But hydrostatics is plenty challenging on its own.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25985
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25985
Honestly, this sounds like an incredibly healthy attitude.
December 31, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Honestly, this sounds like an incredibly healthy attitude.
When a fluid coats the inner walls of a cylinder, it can move downward in what's called a collar flow. In our airways, a sinking collar flow can thicken as it falls, eventually blocking the airway completely.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25585
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25585
December 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
When a fluid coats the inner walls of a cylinder, it can move downward in what's called a collar flow. In our airways, a sinking collar flow can thicken as it falls, eventually blocking the airway completely.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25585
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=25585
When droplets flow through a forest of microfluidic posts, they can deform around the obstacle or break up into smaller droplets. Here, researchers explore the factors that control the outcome, as well as when droplets collide, coalesce, and mix.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26731
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26731
December 29, 2025 at 5:01 PM
When droplets flow through a forest of microfluidic posts, they can deform around the obstacle or break up into smaller droplets. Here, researchers explore the factors that control the outcome, as well as when droplets collide, coalesce, and mix.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26731
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26731
Apparently either spelling is acceptable, so you're good.
December 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Apparently either spelling is acceptable, so you're good.
I think I might have to steal your sign when it's time to do a read-through on my manuscript.
December 28, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I think I might have to steal your sign when it's time to do a read-through on my manuscript.
Bubbles caught in ice resemble the growth of a cellular organism in this photograph of Tatiewa Lake in Japan, taken by Soichiro Moriyama.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26693
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26693
December 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Bubbles caught in ice resemble the growth of a cellular organism in this photograph of Tatiewa Lake in Japan, taken by Soichiro Moriyama.
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26693
fyfluiddynamics.com/?p=26693