The physics of how gentoo penguins can swim speedily underwater
Enlarge / Gentoo penguins are the world's fastest swimming birds, thanks to the unique shape and structure of their wings. Gentoo penguins are the world's fastest swimming birds, clocking in at maximum underwater speeds of up to 36 km/h (about 22 mph). That's because their wings have evolved into flippers ideal for moving through water…
Good news for clumsy divers: Physics holds the key to less-painful...
Brown researchers set up a belly flop-like water experiment using a blunt cylinder, adding an important vibrating twist to it that ultimately led them to counterintuitive findings. Credit: John Antolik and Daniel Harris. Brown researchers set up a belly flop-like water experiment using a blunt cylinder, adding an important vibrating twist to it that ultimately…
The physics of saltwater taffy
Enlarge / Saltwater taffy is made by stretching and pulling the sticky candy base to create air bubbles for a fluffy and chewy confection. When San To Chan successfully defended their PhD thesis, they received a gift of saltwater taffy to celebrate and couldn't help being intrigued by the taffy's unusual consistency: somewhere between a…
Physics reveals secret of how nature helped sculpt the Great Sphinx...
Enlarge / Experiments yield fresh evidence to support controversial hypothesis about the formation of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Leif Ristroph, a physicist and applied mathematician at New York University, was conducting experiments on how clay erodes in response to flowing water when he noticed tiny shapes emerging that resembled seated lions—in essence, miniature versions…
The physics of an 18th-century fire engine
Enlarge / An 18th-century fire engine designed and built by Richard Newsham, purchased in 1728 for St Giles Church, Great Wishford, UK. When Don Lemon, a physicist at Bethel College in Kansas, encountered an 18th-century fire engine designed by English Inventor Richard Newsham on display at the Hall of Flame museum in Phoenix, he was…
