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We are probably familiar with fluid dynamics from swimming in a pool and aerodynamics from birds flying in the sky. But how does fluid behave on a microscopic level and how can we fly through the galaxies? Why not join us to find out!
How do sperm get to the egg, how did your heart get to be on the left, and other stories about the fluid dynamics of life.
Professor Dave Smith
(Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Birmingham)
From pouring a pint to paddling in a pool, fluid dynamics on macroscopic (human-size) scales is very familiar. However, fluids behave very differently on the scale of the cell from what we are used to. We will discuss examples of these tiny, delicate flows that are crucial to life including: the migration of sperm to the egg to fertilise, cilia-driven flows that cause the eventual placement of the heart on the left of the body, and a new method for measuring forces on cells based on imaging glowing virus particles.
…and Icarus flew
Dr Pietro Servini
(Research Fellow in the School of Mathematics at the University of Birmingham)
We’ve always wanted to fly. The ancient Greeks spoke of Icarus and Daedalus fleeing imprisonment in Crete on wings of wax and feathers. Sadly, their mythical flight ended in tragedy, but many centuries later, our dreams of taking to the air have become a reality.
This talk is a whistle-stop tour through the history of aerodynamics research, at the end of which you will (hopefully!) have some idea as to how the marriage between mathematics and experimentation has unlocked the secrets of the very small, and allowed us to fly through the galaxies…
This talk is a whistle-stop tour through the history of aerodynamics research, at the end of which you will (hopefully!) have some idea as to how the marriage between mathematics and experimentation has unlocked the secrets of the very small, and allowed us to fly through the galaxies…
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