These mysterious “fireworks” do not illuminate the night sky. These are computer simulations of recent papers on mixtures that you don’t want to mix.
The researchers mapped the way in which two immiscible fluids (two fluids that do not mix like oil or water) produce “fingers” when they interact. They create different patterns and spread the liquid by alternately injecting fluid into the center of each “fireworks.”
Studying this phenomenon is important for storing carbon from the earth’s atmosphere, a strategy to tackle climate change. Carbon dioxide has been responsible for about 80% of all heating from human-raised greenhouse gases since 1990. It is possible to remove a large amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but you still have to go somewhere. Saving it on the ground is one option. And understanding fluid interactions can help you understand how to do it.
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In this case, the term “fluid” can refer to both gases and liquids containing carbon dioxide gas acid. Viscosity is a measure of how easily a fluid moves. Highly viscous liquids move slowly like molasses and tar, while lower-viscosity liquids move faster and can spread even more like water or air.
The “fireworks” of the fluid is caused by Safman Taylor’s instability. This is a phenomenon that occurs when two easily confused fluids with different viscosities are confined to a small space. When a less viscous liquid is added to the system, it doesn’t have much to go, so instead it’s pushed against the thick fluid, forming a unique pattern.
If you put adhesive between two flat surfaces and you changed your mind and pulled apart, you may have noticed the wet glue that forms a strange ridge and waterway. This is Saffman-Taylor instability. When he pulled the pieces apart, Air tried to go to a place where there was a more viscous adhesive, leaving those patterns behind.
Related: Why do almost all life breathe oxygen?
Storage of carbon dioxide in the ground involves “injecting” carbon dioxide gas into the underground confined liquid (water), leading to Safman Taylor’s instability. Paper “fireworks” indicates that the number and range of fingers can be changed depending on when the liquid is injected into the system. Increased finger effect will help prevent gas from returning to the atmosphere.
People around the world are already working on carbon sequestration (storage) projects. As of 2024, 50 facilities are in operation, 44 have been built, and an additional 534 have been developed according to the Global CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) Institute. By developing this technology, we can provide more tools to suppress the global heating caused by the presence of too much carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere.
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