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The ability to efficiently and unobtrusively screen for trace amounts of explosives on airline passengers could improve travel safety – without invoking the ire of inconvenienced fliers. Toward that end, mechanical engineer and fluid dynamicist Matthew Staymates of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and colleagues have developed a prototype air sampling system that can quickly blow particles off the surfaces of shoes and suck them away for analysis.

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“Splashing” plays a central role in the transport of pollutants and the spread of diseases, but while the sight of a droplet striking and splashing off of a solid surface is a common experience, the actual physical ingredients and mechanisms involved in splashing aren’t all that well understood.

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Wine drinkers know that swirling a good vintage around in a glass aerates the wine and releases its bouquet. Just how the process – known as “orbital shaking” – works, however, has been something of a mystery.

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Explosions of reactive gases and the associated rapid, uncontrolled release of large amounts of energy pose threats of immense destructive power to mining operations, fuel storage facilities, chemical processing plants, and many other industrial applications.

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The latest news and discoveries from the science of fluid motion will be featured at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society’s (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD), held November 20-22, 2011, at the Baltimore Convention Center near the scenic Inner Harbor section of Baltimore, Md. Researchers from around the globe will present noteworthy research covering the intricacies of flight, the workings of the human heart, the spread of disease, explosions, wine swirling, and more.

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Supernovas, the Swirling of Wine, Heart Valves, Mary Poppins’ Umbrella and Other Surprising Insights into Flight, and More. The 64th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) will include more than 2,000 compelling presentations from across the physical sciences, engineering, and medicine. Topics include: explosions -- from tiny experiments to massive stars; the quirks of flying; why coffee spills; and how rain contributes to the spread of disease among plants.