Meeting Information

2016 Spring Meeting of the APS New England Section

April 1-2, 2016
Wheaton College
Norton, MA

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Register online: https://www.aps.org/memb-sec/meeting/startpage.cfm?event_id=1190

Meeting Theme: Fluid Dynamics of Very Large and Very Small Systems

In the plenary talks we will examine fluid dynamics on a wide range of scales. On a large scale, the Earth’s oceans control heat transfer from the tropics, CO2 and O2 levels in the atmosphere, and climate change; they also support vast ecosystems, with swimmers ranging in size from a few microns (zooplankton) to several meters (whales). Fluids beyond the earth, such as the ocean on the Jovian moon of Europa, are beginning to inform our understanding of the history of the Solar System. On the small scale, nano and micro fluidics now allow us to manipulate fluid flow at the cellular level. At all scales, fluid motion is controlled a common set of factors (viscous forces, pressure gradients, turbulent transfer of heat and momentum), but these processes vary over many orders of magnitude. Fluid motions present interesting challenges for direct observation, and extreme challenges for computational modeling. The physical behaviors encountered, and the scientific puzzles to be addressed, vary dramatically with the size of the system under consideration: in this meeting, we will consider a variety of extreme cases.

Meeting Website: http://apsne2016.webspace.wheatoncollege.edu/