Why Smaller-Size Objects Affect the Flow Much More than Larger Ones: A Geometric Explanation with Applications Ranging from Volcanoes and Tornadoes to Blood, Fish, and Building Preservation

Authors

Laxman Bokati, The University of Texas at El PasoFollow
Vladik Kreinovich, The University of Texas at El PasoFollow

Publication Date

9-1-2022

Comments

Technical Report: UTEP-CS-22-95a

To appear in Proceedings of the 11th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Systems IS'22, Warsaw, Poland, October 12-14, 2022.

Abstract

At first glance, the larger the object, the larger should be its effect on the surroundings -- in particular, the larger should be its effect on the surrounding flow. However, in many practical situations, we observe the opposite effect: smaller-size particles affect the flow much more than larger-size particles. This seemingly counterintuitive phenomena has been observed in many situations: lava flow in the volcanoes, air circulation in tornadoes, blood flow in a body, the effect of fish on water circulation in the ocean, and the effect of added particles on seeping water that damages historic buildings. In this paper, we show that all these phenomena can be explained in natural geometric terms.