Scientists model the flight of dandelion seeds

EPFL scientists, working in association with colleagues at the University of Twente and the University of Pisa, have studied the link between the number of bristles on dandelion seeds and the ability of those seeds to travel long distances in a stable manner. Humans went to great lengths to design airplanes that can fly stably at cruising speed. But some biological objects - like dandelion seeds - have evolved to do that naturally over several kilometers. In 2018, scientists at the University of Edinburgh took a close look at dandelion seeds, and more specifically at how they are able to disperse over large distances. The research team found that as the seeds float through the air, a stable, detached ring of circulating fluid - called a vortex ring - forms underneath the seeds' pappus (the disk-shaped collection of white bristles that acts like a parachute), and keeps the seeds aloft. Their findings have been published in  Nature . Diagram of the vortex ring that forms underneath a pappus, allowing dandelion seeds to travel several kilometers.