Fluid Dynamics

We’re willing to bet you’ve never given much thought to how bugs urinate, but even if you did you probably wouldn’t imagine them using butt-based pinball paddles to flick drops of pee at 40 G’s, using physics never before seen in nature.

Researchers at MIT have observed “electron whirlpools” for the first time. The bizarre behavior arises when electricity flows as a fluid, which could make for more efficient electronics.

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.

After studying how birds' flapping wings use fluid dynamics to push air back while moving the animals forward, two scientists from New York University have developed a pump that works in a unique fashion – and it has teeth.

To make sure that astronauts are suitably caffeinated, the Italian coffee company Lavazza is developing the ISSpresso; the first espresso machine built to meet the needs of astronauts who need a decent jolt before facing the day.

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.

Flying snakes flatten out their bodies after launching themselves from trees, proceeding to glide through the air. Recently, scientists figured out why that technique works as well as it does. Their findings could have some major applications for us humans.

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

What does a labrador and a clothes washer have in common?

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