The Fish that Swims Like a Paddle-Wheel Boat
|
|
| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Engineering Mechanics Mechanical Engineering Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Ocean Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Reference - Visuals |
| Media Type: |
Video |
| Author(s): |
Anup Shirgaonkar Malcolm MacIver Neelesh Patankar Oscar Curet |
| Description: | "The vortex structure around a sinusoidally undulating ribbon fin of a weakly electric fish. A series of organized vortex rings creates a jet that propels the fish. The fish that swims like a paddle wheel boat. A simulation of the undulating fin of a weakly electric fish, a fresh water fish that hunts in the rivers of the Amazon Basin. These fish have the unique ability to "see" with a self-generated electric field, enabling it to hunt at night and in the muddy water common to these rivers. Because their field goes out in all directions, they require the ability to move in all directions to quickly reach prey they have sensed with their field. Key to this astonishing agility is their long ribbon-like fin, running along most of the bottom edge of their body, a simulation of which is shown in the left portion of the image. Using these simulations, we have discovered that the fish pushes itself through water much as a paddle wheel boat does, where each "paddle" is one undulation of the fin. The fish can quickly change from swimming forward to swimming backward to reach a prey it has detected, simply by reversing the direction of paddle movement along the fin. The right panel shows a front view of the fin, indicating rings coming away from the fin much like smoke rings are created. This fish is a key laboratory animal for investigations into how the nervous system processes sensory information and controls movement. This work is leading to exciting new robotic applications for maneuverable underwater robots and systems that can perceive with electric fields." |
| Rating: |
|
| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | fluid dynamics swimming fish |
| Is Component of: |
Image Gallery of Fluid Dynamics at APS 2008 |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: |
"The Division of Fluid Dynamics exists for the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of the physics of fluids with special emphasis on the dynamical theories of the liquid, plastic and gaseous states of matter under all conditions of temperature and pressure. Every year, the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics hosts a physical Gallery of Fluid Motion at its annual meeting -- a room where stunning graphics and videos from computational or experimental studies showing flow phenomena are displayed. The most outstanding entries are selected by a panel of referees for artistic content and honored for their originality and ability to convey information. Past winners are published in the journal Physics of Fluids. This year, in conjunction with the 61st APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Annual Meeting, held from November 23-25, 2008 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, a subset of these images |
| Difficulty: |
Difficult |
| Interactivity Level: |
Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | November 2008 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.aps.org/units/dfd/pressroom/gallery/fish.cfm |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
|
