Creators: Maddie Terlap, Matthew Quiroz, Latrelle Bright, Hannah Morsch
Medium: LED string lights and chiffon on a chicken wire installation
Flow patterns can be characterized using the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces (forces of friction between the particles making up the fluid): the Reynolds number. In this piece, a meandering inverted river brings into light emerging structures of fluid flows with different Reynolds numbers. Slowly ramping up the Reynolds number, a smooth steady flow encounters an obstacle, creating a street of swirling vortices that propagate downstream. Helical whirls follow along the wide bends of the river before it cascades into chaotic, turbulent eddies.
