Role of thrust and drag clarified for swimming microorganisms

For years, B. Ubbo Felderhof, a professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Germany's RWTH Aachen University, has explored the mechanisms that fish and microorganisms rely on to propel themselves. Flying birds and ...

Daffodils help inspire design of stable structures

In 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed in dramatic fashion, twisting in the wind before it snapped and plunged into the water below. As wind blew across the span, the flow induced oscillating sideways forces that helped ...