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The unlikely twist in Feynmans' reverse sprinkler problem. Riddle is solved. By a guy named Brennan Sprinkle.
Scientists have solved the decades-old Feynman Sprinkler Problem, showing that a sprinkler running in reverse spins oppositely to when it ejects water. This finding deepens our understanding of fluid dynamics and could inform renewable energy development. For decades scientists have been trying t
“We now have a much better understanding about situations in which fluid flow through structures can induce motion,” notes Brennan Sprinkle, an assistant professor at Colorado School of Mines and one of the paper’s co-authors. The researchers found that the two internal jets collide but they do not meet exactly head on, and their math model showed how this subtle effect produces forces that rotate the sprinkler in reverse. Reference: “Centrifugal Flows Drive Reverse Rotation of Feynman’s Sprinkler” by Kaizhe Wang, Brennan Sprinkle, Mingxuan Zuo and Leif Ristroph, 26 January 2024, Physical Review Letters.
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