On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak gravitational-wave strain of 1.0×10(-21). It matches the waveform predicted by general relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the resulting single black hole. The signal was observed with a matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 24 and a false alarm rate estimated to be less than 1 event per 203,000 years, equivalent to a significance greater than 5.1σ. The source lies at a luminosity distance of 410(-180)(+160)  Mpc corresponding to a redshift z=0.09(-0.04)(+0.03). In the source frame, the initial black hole masses are 36(-4)(+5)M⊙ and 29(-4)(+4)M⊙, and the final black hole mass is 62(-4)(+4)M⊙, with 3.0(-0.5)(+0.5)M⊙c(2) radiated in gravitational waves. All uncertainties define 90% credible intervals. These observations demonstrate the existence of binary stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.

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The Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger

Microfabricated integrated circuits revolutionized computation by vastly reducing the space, labor, and time required for calculations. Microfluidic systems hold similar promise for the large-scale automation of chemistry and biology, suggesting the possibility of numerous experiments performed rapidly and in parallel, while consuming little reagent. While it is too early to tell whether such a vision will be realized, significant progress has been achieved, and various applications of significant scientific and practical interest have been developed. Here a review of the physics of small volumes (nanoliters) of fluids is presented, as parametrized by a series of dimensionless numbers expressing the relative importance of various physical phenomena. Specifically, this review explores the Reynolds number Re, addressing inertial effects; the Peclet number Pe, which concerns convective and diffusive transport; the capillary number Ca expressing the importance of interfacial tension; the Deborah, Weissenberg, and elasticity numbers De, Wi, and El, describing elastic effects due to deformable microstructural elements like polymers; the Grashof and Rayleigh numbers Gr and Ra, describing density-driven flows; and the Knudsen number, describing the importance of noncontinuum molecular effects. Furthermore, the long-range nature of viscous flows and the small device dimensions inherent in microfluidics mean that the influence of boundaries is typically significant. A variety of strategies have been developed to manipulate fluids by exploiting boundary effects; among these are electrokinetic effects, acoustic streaming, and fluid-structure interactions. The goal is to describe the physics behind the rich variety of fluid phenomena occurring on the nanoliter scale using simple scaling arguments, with the hopes of developing an intuitive sense for this occasionally counterintuitive world.

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Microfluidics: Fluid physics at the nanoliter scale

I. the origin of species by means of natural selection

The boundary layer equations for plane, incompressible, and steady flow are 

$$\matrix{ {u{{\partial u} \over {\partial x}} + v{{\partial u} \over {\partial y}} = - {1 \over \varrho }{{\partial p} \over {\partial x}} + v{{{\partial ^2}u} \over {\partial {y^2}}},} \cr {0 = {{\partial p} \over {\partial y}},} \cr {{{\partial u} \over {\partial x}} + {{\partial v} \over {\partial y}} = 0.} \cr }$$

Boundary Layer Theory

We survey progress over the past 25 years in the development of microscale devices for pumping fluids. We attempt to provide both a reference for micropump researchers and a resource for those outside the field who wish to identify the best micropump for a particular application. Reciprocating displacement micropumps have been the subject of extensive research in both academia and the private sector and have been produced with a wide range of actuators, valve configurations and materials. Aperiodic displacement micropumps based on mechanisms such as localized phase change have been shown to be suitable for specialized applications. Electroosmotic micropumps exhibit favorable scaling and are promising for a variety of applications requiring high flow rates and pressures. Dynamic micropumps based on electrohydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic effects have also been developed. Much progress has been made, but with micropumps suitable for important applications still not available, this remains a fertile area for future research.

https://microfluidics.stanford.edu/Publications/Micropumps_Cooling/Laser%20Review%20of%20Micropumps%20in%20JMM.pdf

A review of micropumps

Flow control: Current status and future prospects

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Turbulence control on airborne laser platform

Seawater agriculture for energy, warming, food, land, and water

Wind tunnels and flumes have become standard laboratory tools for modeling a variety of aerodynamic and hydrodynamic flow problems. Less available, although by no means less useful, are facilities in which a model can be towed (or propelled) through air or water. This article emphasizes the use of the water towing tank as an experimental tool for aerodynamic and hydrodynamic studies. Its advantages and disadvantages over other flow rigs are discussed, and its usefullness is illustrated through many examples of research results obtained over the past few years in a typical towing tank facility.

Use of water towing tanks for aerodynamics and hydrodynamics

eld equations, but exact solutions of these often nonlinear dierential equations are impossible to obtain particularly for turbulent ows, and heuristic models together with intensive use of supercomputers are necessary to proceed to a reasonably accurate forecast. In other cases, as for example earthquakes, the precise laws are not even known and prediction becomes more or less a black art. Aerospace engineers are well trained in classical mechanics, and this science may form the foundation for predicting and even controlling large-scale disasters. Viewed as dynamical systems, natural as well as manmade disasters are ripe for opportunities for aerospace scientists and engineers to help, along side civil & environmental engineers, sociologists, psychologists, rst responders, tacticians, logisticians, medical personnel, and the usual plethora of government and private agencies involved in prediction and relief eorts.

Mohamed Gad-el-Hak

Papers

Flow control: Current status and future prospects

Turbulence control on airborne laser platform

Seawater agriculture for energy, warming, food, land, and water

Use of water towing tanks for aerodynamics and hydrodynamics

Does the Field of Aerospace Sciences Have a Role to Play in Large-Scale Disasters?