Enchanting waves

Abstract:
The phenomenon of “Shock Waves”, referred here as “Enchanting Waves”, is  commonly associated with aerospace engineering/astronautics and in particular with supersonic flight. Shock waves appear in nature whenever different elements in a fluid approach one another with a velocity larger than the local speed of sound. Dissipation of energy, retardation of the velocity, flow turning and information transfer in high-speed flows are some of the fundamental reasons behind the occurrence of shock waves in supersonic/hypersonic flows. A number of methodologies to generate shock waves have been designed and built in the Laboratory for Hypersonic and Shockwave Research (LHSR) in IISc, Bangalore.  Several techniques have been developed for reducing the aerodynamic drag around vehicles flying at hypersonic speeds.  The ability of shock waves to instantaneously enhance the pressure and temperature in the medium has enabled the development of non-intrusive needleless drug delivery system, gene gun, sustained release of drugs, and cell transformation devices. Finally, techniques involving extraction of sandal oil, polyphenol and caffeine from natural products have also been developed. A broad overview of the research and technology development activities in LHSR will be presented in this colloquium.