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High-speed video imaging reveals the two main components of a sneeze in colorful detail: a shower of larger droplets (shown in green) and a cloud made of a mixture of smaller droplets suspended in moist, warm gas (shown in red). Credit: Lydia Bourouiba
As cases increased worldwide this spring, mechanical engineers developed solutions to help slow and stop the spread of the coronavirus.
An air of uncertainty descended on MIT’s campus in early March. Whispers and rumors about campus closing down swirled in the hallways. Students convened en masse on Killian Court to dance, hug, and cry as they were told they had until the end of the week to vacate campus. Within days, the Infinite Corridor’s usual stream of activity and noise was silenced.
While MIT’s dorms and classrooms became unnervingly quiet,…
