Material, Computation, and Cognition

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

Two interesting sets of clouds are featured in this satellite photo of the Canary Islands and the coast of Africa. In the upper part of the picture, closed cell stratocumulus clouds cover the ocean. As the wind drives these clouds over the islands, their pattern is disturbed by mountains that force the lower layers of air up and around, forming von Karman vortices and wakes that mingle and twist the cloud patterns to the south of the islands. (Photo credit: European Space Agency; via Wired)

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

Flow visualization in a water tunnel shows what the flow around a line of traffic looks like. Note the progressively more turbulent flow around each car as it sits in the wake of the car before it. Turbulent flow is usually associated with increased drag forces, but because turbulence can actually help prevent flow separation it is sometimes desirable as a method for decreasing drag. In the case of these cars drafting on one another, it is clear that the cars further back in the line cause less effect on the fluid—and thus have less drag to overcome—than the front car.  (Photo credit: Rob Bulmahn)

(via bambamisaki)

responsivesarchitectures:

Title: Living Materials

Category:  #livingmaterial #metabolicmaterial #responsivematerials

Author: Wyss Institute at Harvard

Year: 2011

Url: http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpage/105/living-materials

Description: Created by a process of hierarchical self-assembly — the process that allows molecules to make cells, cells to make tissues, and tissues to give rise to whole organisms — living materials can grow, move, learn, and self-organize. They are responsive, adaptive, programmable, and self-healing; they can be stronger than steel, and better “engineered” than a suspension bridge. Scientists have only just begun to tap into the potential they present.

Via Andrea Graziano @digitag