Fluid Dynamics

Ordinarily, if you want liquid to flow in only one direction through a pipe, that pipe has to have a flap-type valve – which could fail. Now, scientists have created a new type of more robust one-way-flow pipe, which was inspired by shark intestines.

Harvard engineers have created a strange new “metafluid” – a liquid that can be programmed to change properties, like its compressibility, transparency, viscosity and even whether it’s Newtonian or not.

In fluid dynamics, hard science often comes with dazzling aesthetic beauty – a fact the American Physical Society highlights annually with a photo/video contest. Here are this year's winners – equal parts fascinating, hypnotic and visually stunning.

This design concept is an entirely fictional work made in conjunction with Yamaha, but it raises an interesting idea: that the greasy chain and sprockets might be replaced with a water-forced drive system pushing power to the back wheel.

The Ferox Azaris is a work of art to look at, and should offer some awesome rough terrain capabilities - but at its heart, it's a test bed and demonstrator for a new, 98% efficient, highly responsive fluid drive system that Ferox hopes will enable some pretty crazy future vehicle architectures.

Engineers at Stanford University claim to have created the world’s first water-operated computer. Using magnetized particles flowing through a micro-miniature network of channels, the machine is said to be capable of performing complex logical operations.

McLaren, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Ferrari have all done it ... now Jaguar Land Rover has done it, too. The automaker recently joined forces with a major bicycle manufacturer, to create a super high-end bike. In this case, Jag collaborated with Pinarello to design the new Dogma F8 road bike.

Virtual prototyping using ANSYS engineering simulation software is the key to Speedo's new Fastskin3 Racing System for swimmers.

UPDATED July 23, 2005 NEW IMAGES With a resting heart-rate of 32 beats per minute and six victories in the month-long, 3500 kilometre Tour de France cycling ra