[0805.0110] A mathematical model of turbulent drag reduction by high-molecular-weight polymeric additives in a shear flow

by Barenblatt himself

Drag reduction, or, what is the same, mean velocity increase in a turbulent
flow at a fixed pressure drop through the addition of tiny amounts (several
parts per million) of high molecular weight polymers (Thoms effect), is known
already for more than sixty years. Rather long ago it was understood that this
effect is related to supramolecular structures formed in the flow. Recent
experiments by S. Chu, E.S.G. Shaqfeh and their associates, where the motion of
supramolecular structures was directly observed, made it possible to understand
and quantify the dynamic interaction of the polymeric structures with the
solvent (water) flow. These results lead to the construction of a mathematical
model of the Thoms effect, based on the Kolmogorov(1942)-Prandtl(1945)
semi-empirical theory of shear flow turbulence.

IRROTATIONAL FLOW OF AN INVISCID FLUID

Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Liquids Adjust Viscosity When Confined, Shaken

Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Liquids Adjust Viscosity When Confined, Shaken

Historical trends in the jet streams

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 35, L08803, doi:10.1029/2008GL033614, 2008

Historical trends in the jet streams

BBC NEWS | Technology | Xerox plans the the future of today

SPIRAL CLEANING

Xerox has drawn on technology it developed to move tiny particles of copy toner around for use in its spiral water filter.

Instead of transferring flush water through a series of tanks where the
detritus slowly settles out, the device sends it through a spiral
channel.

Centrifugal force moves the heavier particles to the outside
wall of the channel while clean water hugs the inside. A fork at the
end of the tube splits it into clean and dirty streams.

By the end of the process, said Mr Parekh said: “There is a small
stream of water with the particles in it and 90 per cent of the water
is clean.”

While this filter can clean out bacteria and other gunk it does not eradicate viruses.

The main beneficiary of this technology could be water treatment
facilities that can reduce the amount of land they need because the
process does away with several steps in conventional water filtering.
Mr Parekh said other benefits included a reduction in chemical costs
and usage by 50% as well as lower energy requirements.

From: BBC Science News

http://gizmodo.com/385748/low-tech-giz-tips-water-cooled-laptop-stand

SpringerLink - Book

I did use Wubi - Ubuntu installer for Windows on my IBM Thinkpad T61 (it’s still hard for me to call it Lenovo) and got fully working Ubuntu 8.04 x86_64 bit working on my machine. NO ISSUES at all: wireless, trackpad, touchpad, sound card, graphics card, everything works. simply works. I already have Python 2.5, Scipy/Numpy, Matplotlib, IPython, PyQt4, Qt  Designer, Firefox 3, OpenOffice, fully productive for two days, enjoy every minute. Try it yourself.

Not clear to me fully how, but they claim to:

CFD technology from ANSYS was used to predict fluid flows around the
body of an elite swimmer in the outstretched glide position (assumed
immediately after the initial dive and following each lap’s turn off
the pool wall) to identify areas where drag, and its slowing effect, is
likely to occur. The images shows flow pathlines colored by local flow
velocity. Image courtesy of ANSYS, Inc.

CFD Review | Speedo Improves High Performance Swimsuit with ANSYS Software

The History Behind the F-35B Vertical Lift: from Napkin to First Supersonic Plane