Sinking Shapes (VIDEO)
Caption
New research uncovers surprising insights into how particles sink in stratified fluids like oceans, where the density of the fluid changes with depth. In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that the speed at which particles sink is determined not only by resistive drag forces from the fluid, but by the rate at which they can absorb salt relative to their volume. That means that smaller particles, counterintuitively, sink faster than larger ones.
For thinner or flatter particles, their settling speed was primarily determined by their smallest dimension. That means that elongated particles actually sink faster than spherical ones of the same volume.
Credit
Harris Lab/Brown University
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