Inter-species technical cooperation

Posted by Lerner on Jan 11, 2011 at 12:06 PM
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Dolphin Vortex Ring Expertise

As Focus Fusion fans know, our device produces tiny plasmoids which are a plasma version of a phenomenon also found in fluids—the vortex ring.  Humans can produce a primitive version of the vortex ring—the smoke ring.  However such smoke rings are very unstable, so they’re not very interesting (as well as having health hazards associated with producing them!).

Dolphins, however, produce highly stable vortex rings and then play with them, as seen in this video or this one:

The vortex ring is formed in the water by the way the dolphins blow air from their blow-hole.  Since the vortex has its lowest pressure at the core, the air stays there.  The motion of the much more massive water ring overcomes the buoyancy of the air and prevents the rings from rising.

But how do the dolphins learn to produce such thin and stable rings?  Perhaps we can learn something of interest from their play.  Dr. Diane Reiss of Hunter College, a leading researcher on dolphin communication and intelligence, and LPP’s Eric Lerner are discussing ways of studying this fascinating behavior.  Her long-term research program is also attempting to try to interpret the intricate songs and sounds that dolphins use to communicate with each other.  (Dolphins have the second largest brain-to-body-mass index of any animal on earth, comparable with that of our Homo erectus ancestors).  So perhaps one day the dolphins will be able to explain to us their vortex ring techniques!

Here’s an even better video:

It adds humpback whales to the mix, and shows smoke rings blown by volcanoes.