Researchers of the University of Twente won the New Journal of Physics Video Abstract Competition 2013. PhD student Vivek N. Prakash and his colleagues from the Department of Physics of Fluids (MESA+ and MIRA) won the competition with their entry: 'How gravity and size affect the acceleration statistics of bubbles in turbulence'. The research was supervised by Prof. Detlef Lohse and Dr. Chao Sun. Researchers from TUe and Université Lille (France) also cooperated in the research.
Taking into account originality, quality and popularity, the New Journal of Physics (NJP) nominated six videos about recently published research. An international audience could then vote for their favourite video on the website njp.org. Researcher Vivek Prakash is grateful. "Our gratitude goes out to all people of the University of Twente who voted for our video." The video is available on the NJP website and can be viewed below. The article has been published as: V.N. Prakash, Y. Tagawa, E. Calzavarini, J. Martinez, F. Toschi, D. Lohse, C. Sun, New J. Phys. 14, 105017 (2012). The article was also chosen as one of the best publications and received extra attention in the 'New Journal of Physics Highlights of 2012' collection.
About the research
The video describes the research into how gravity and size affect the movement of particles in turbulent flows, for instance, air bubbles in water. This research has shown that gravity and the size of the particles both have an effect. The researches are aimed at acquiring information about the statistical features, such as speed and acceleration, and at understanding the movement of such particles in turbulence. In 2010, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull caused a lot of nuisance and disrupted air traffic in Northern Europe. Eventually, the researchers hope to produce forecasts, for instance about how volcanic ash spreads during eruptions.
In the research, use was made of the Twente Water Tunnel, an eight-meter high water channel at the University of Twente which can be used to create turbulent flows. A camera registered how the air bubbles behaved in relation to one another. "The experiments and numerical simulations hint at a complex interaction between gravity and inertia, which deserves more in-depth research", said researcher Prakash.
New Journal of Physics
The New Journal of Physics is an international ‘open access’ scientific journal in the area of physics. The journal publishes about fundamental, applied, theoretical and experimental research as well as about interdisciplinary subjects. The video competition is a new concept launched by NJP intended to increase the visibility of authors and their work.
