Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 22, 2026

Rapid Fabrication of Custom Microfluidic Devices for Research and Educational Applications
05:33

Rapid Fabrication of Custom Microfluidic Devices for Research and Educational Applications

Published on: November 20, 2019

The origins and the future of microfluidics

George M Whitesides1

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.gwhitesides@gmwgroup.harvard.edu

Nature
|July 28, 2006
PubMed

More Related Videos

Bilayer Microfluidic Device for Combinatorial Plug Production07:03

Bilayer Microfluidic Device for Combinatorial Plug Production

Published on: December 1, 2023

Development of a Microfluidics-Based Approach for Investigating Microtubule Polymer Mechanics06:03

Development of a Microfluidics-Based Approach for Investigating Microtubule Polymer Mechanics

Published on: May 30, 2025

Related Concept Videos

Laminar and Turbulent Flow01:07

Laminar and Turbulent Flow

Fluid dynamics is the study of fluids in motion. Velocity vectors are often used to illustrate fluid motion in applications like meteorology. For example, wind—the fluid motion of air in the atmosphere—can be represented by vectors indicating the speed and direction of the wind at any given point on a map. Another method for representing fluid motion is a streamline. A streamline represents the path of a small volume of fluid as it flows. When the flow pattern changes with time, the streamlines...
Steady Flow of a Fluid Stream01:27

Steady Flow of a Fluid Stream

Consider a control volume, such as a pipe with solid boundaries, through which fluid flows and changes direction due to the impulse exerted by the resulting force from the pipe walls. In steady flow, the mass of fluid entering the control volume at a given time, t, with velocity v1, is equal to the mass leaving after infinitesimal time dt, with velocity v2.
During this process, the momentum of the fluid within the control volume remains constant over the time interval dt. By applying the...
Eulerian and Lagrangian Flow Descriptions01:22

Eulerian and Lagrangian Flow Descriptions

Fluid flow analysis is critical in many scientific and engineering disciplines, and two principal approaches are used to describe this flow: the Eulerian and Lagrangian methods. These methods offer different perspectives on monitoring and analyzing the motion of fluids, each with distinct advantages depending on the scenario.
The Eulerian method focuses on fixed points in space where fluid properties, such as velocity, pressure, and temperature, are observed as the fluid moves between these...
Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines01:18

Streamlines, Streaklines, and Pathlines

A streamline represents the trajectory that is always tangent to the fluid's velocity vector at any given point. The velocity of a fluid particle is always directed along the streamline, ensuring the particle continuously follows the streamline's path. Streamlines are particularly useful for visualizing the overall direction of flow in a fluid system, and they provide an instantaneous representation of the flow's velocity field. In steady flow, where conditions do not change over time,...
Plane Potential Flows01:23

Plane Potential Flows

Plane potential flows simplify fluid motion by assuming the fluid to be irrotational and incompressible. These characteristics allow these flows to be described by a velocity potential function, ϕ, representing the flow speed in a given direction, and a stream function, ψ, that visualizes the flow path, both governed by Laplace's equation. These parameters help in estimating flow patterns, velocity distributions, and pressure fields around various hydraulic structures.
Uniform Flow
Uniform flow...
Turbulent Flow01:24

Turbulent Flow

Turbulent flow is characterized by unpredictable fluctuations in velocity and pressure, which result in a chaotic fluid movement distinct from the orderly patterns of laminar flow. While laminar flow is governed by smooth, parallel layers with minimal mixing, turbulent flow exhibits highly irregular, three-dimensional patterns. This behavior arises due to instabilities in the fluid's velocity profile, and amplifies as the flow velocity increases. Minor disturbances, known as turbulent spots,...