Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

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,...
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...
Poiseuille's Law and Reynolds Number01:10

Poiseuille's Law and Reynolds Number

Any fluid in a horizontal tube can flow due to pressure differences—fluid flows from high to low pressure. The flow rate (Q) is the ratio of pressure difference and resistance through a horizontal tube. The greater the pressure difference, the higher the flow rate. The flow resistance is expressed as:
Introduction to Types of Flows01:23

Introduction to Types of Flows

Fluid flows are categorized by dimensionality and behavior, with one-dimensional flow being the simplest form, where properties like velocity and pressure change only along a single axis. Water moving through straight pipes exemplifies this flow type, as variations in other directions are minimal. One-dimensional analysis helps simplify understanding such flows, focusing solely on changes along the pipe's length.
Two-dimensional flow involves changes in both length and height, as seen in air...
Viscosity01:17

Viscosity

When water is poured into a glass, it falls freely and quickly, whereas if honey or maple syrup is poured over a pancake, it flows slowly and sticks to the surface of the container. This difference in the flow of different kinds of liquids arises due to the fluid friction between the liquid layers and the liquid and the surrounding material. This property of fluids is called fluid viscosity. In this example, water has a lower viscosity than honey and maple syrup.
The SI unit of viscosity is...
Laminar Flow01:27

Laminar Flow

Laminar flow represents a smooth, orderly fluid motion where particles move along parallel paths, resulting in minimal mixing between layers. Streamlined particle paths characterize this flow regime and occur under conditions where viscous forces dominate over inertial forces. The distinction between laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow is primarily determined by the Reynolds number, a dimensionless quantity calculated as:

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A synthetic and transparent clay removes Microcystis aeruginosa efficiently.

Harmful algae·2024
Same author

Lake surface cooling drives littoral-pelagic exchange of dissolved gases.

Science advances·2024
Same author

A theoretical modeling framework for motile and colonial harmful algae.

Ecology and evolution·2022
Same author

The Imprint of Primary Production on High-Frequency Profiles of Lake Optical Properties.

Environmental science & technology·2021
Same author

The Red Harmful Plague in Times of Climate Change: Blooms of the Cyanobacterium <i>Planktothrix rubescens</i> Triggered by Stratification Dynamics and Irradiance.

Frontiers in microbiology·2021
Same author

Increasing Carbon-to-Phosphorus Ratio (C:P) from Seston as a Prime Indicator for the Initiation of Lake Reoligotrophication.

Environmental science & technology·2021

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers
22:38

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers

Published on: May 28, 2007

Do microscopic organisms feel turbulent flows?

Miki Hondzo1, Alfred Wüest

  • 1St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414-2196, USA. mhondzo@umn.edu

Environmental Science & Technology
|February 28, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Small-scale turbulence significantly impacts aquatic microorganism nutrient uptake and growth. This study introduces energy dissipation rate as a key parameter, urging a reevaluation of lab protocols for environmental microbiology.

More Related Videos

Window on a Microworld: Simple Microfluidic Systems for Studying Microbial Transport in Porous Media
14:25

Window on a Microworld: Simple Microfluidic Systems for Studying Microbial Transport in Porous Media

Published on: May 3, 2010

A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients
09:28

A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients

Published on: April 19, 2010

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers
22:38

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers

Published on: May 28, 2007

Window on a Microworld: Simple Microfluidic Systems for Studying Microbial Transport in Porous Media
14:25

Window on a Microworld: Simple Microfluidic Systems for Studying Microbial Transport in Porous Media

Published on: May 3, 2010

A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients
09:28

A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients

Published on: April 19, 2010

Area of Science:

  • Environmental microbiology
  • Fluid dynamics
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Microscopic organisms in aquatic environments face diverse conditions.
  • Current understanding assumes fluid motion at micro-scales does not affect microorganism physiology.
  • Traditional lab methods often overlook fluid dynamics in physiological assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of small-scale turbulence on aquatic microorganism physiology.
  • To identify a physical parameter that quantifies turbulence effects on microbial responses.
  • To propose a model integrating fluid motion into microbial growth kinetics.

Main Methods:

  • Laboratory experiments with controlled turbulence.
  • Bioassays to measure nutrient uptake and growth rates.
  • Development of a conceptual model linking fluid dynamics and Monod kinetics.

Main Results:

  • Small-scale turbulence significantly modulates algal and bacterial nutrient uptake and growth.
  • The rate of energy dissipation effectively scales turbulence effects across different scales.
  • Microorganism physiological responses are demonstrably influenced by fluid motion.

Conclusions:

  • Turbulence is a critical factor influencing microbial physiology in aquatic systems.
  • Energy dissipation rate serves as a unifying parameter for turbulence effects.
  • Researchers should integrate fluid motion, particularly turbulence, into laboratory protocols and modeling for accurate environmental microbiology studies.