Sunday, March 15, 2009

Amazing Real Hydro Dynamics Dolphin Bubble Rings

Dear Readers,

The Air Bubble Rings you see in the pictures are real!

Yes, dolphins can blow bubbles .... and bubbles will usually surface above water right ????? ..... yes ... it will surface up the water ..... however, did you know that, bubble rings created by dolphins can actually stay in water .... ????

Sounds impossible right ?? read on more and watch the video .....

In Engineering, one of the toughest subjects were Fluid, Fluid Mechanics, Fluid Dynamics, Hydro Fluid Dynamics, and all fluids related subjects ...... little do we know ..... we all should learn from the Dolphins .... there are the Fluid Dynamics Experts !!



A physicist would marvel at some of the play behavior observed in young dolphins at the Project Delphis laboratory. They blow underwater bubble rings by injecting air into water vortices, about the thickness of a straw and 1 to 2 feet in diameter. The rings don't rise to the surface! The babies play with these underwater toys by moving them around with their rostrum, or biting them. They even bounce the rings off the wall, and elongate them with a flick of their dorsal fins into 15 foot corkscrews.


A bubble ring is an underwater ring vortex where an air bubble occupies the core of the vortex, forming a ring shape. The ring of air as well as the nearby water spins toroidally as it travels through the water, much like a flexible bracelet might spin when it is rolled off a person's arm. Some scuba divers can create bubble rings by blowing air out of their mouth in a particular manner. Long bubble rings also can form spontaneously in turbulent water such as in heavy surf. Bubble rings and smoke rings are both forms of vortex rings, and are sometimes studied in the field of fluid dynamics. Dolphins and humpback whales have also been seen to create bubble rings. Dolphins sometimes create bubble rings on purpose, seemingly for amusement.




The young dolphin gives a quick flip of her head, and an undulating silver ring appears--as if by magic--in front of her. The ring is a solid, toroidal bubble two feet across--and yet it does not rise to the surface! It stands erect in the water like the rim of a magic mirror, or the doorway to an unseen dimension. For long seconds the dolphin regards its creation, from varying aspects and angles, with its vision and sonar. Seemingly making a judgement, the dolphin then quickly pulls a small silver donut from the larger structure, which collapses into small bubbles. She then "pushes" the donut, which stays just inches ahead of her rostrum, perhaps 20 feet over a period of up to 10 seconds. Then, stopping again, she regards the twisting ring for a last time and bites it--causing it to collapse into a thousand tiny bubbles which head--as they should--for the water's surface. After a few moments of reflection, she creates another.




This isn't fantasy, it's real. And it isn't magic, just marvelous. It is a rare dolphin behavior, and we first saw it in the play of two baby dolphins. It gives us a little more insight into the superb level of control dolphins can exercise on their water environment, and underscores the fact that we can still discover things about dolphins by simply watching them.



As it turned out, small silver rings weren't the only toys the dolphins were making for themselves: some of the creations were as large as a basketball rim. And Tinkerbell proved able to create a silver helix, spiraling perhaps 20 feet long, that would spring into life in a fraction of a second and remain stable in the water as she swam past, observing it with sonar and vision. then--presto! she would grab a small silver ring from the helix to play with, while the rest of the helix degraded into bubbles which would belatedly "remember" to rise to the surface.




Enjoy the Dolphin Bubble Video....

Dear Readers, we hope you have enjoyed this post as much as we do .... and remember to Give Thanks to the Wonders of the Creator!

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