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Our works in the spotlight

Published on Apr 5, 2017

앵커 멘트
국내 학자가 포함된 미국 MIT 연구진이 빗방울 모습을 촬영했습니다. 빗방울이 흙 위에 떨어지자 작은 기포들이 생깁니다. 이어 이 기포들이 터지면서 아주 작은 미세 물방울 입자인 에어로졸이 만들어져 공기 중으로 퍼집니다. 이때 흙 속 화학 성분과 함께 흙에 살던 박테리아가 스며들어 비 냄새를 나게 하는 것입니다. 이 에어로졸 속 박테리아는 공기 중에서 최소 한 시간 이상 살아남는 것으로 확인됐습니다. 바람을 타고 그만큼 먼 거리를 이동할 수 있는 겁니다.


인터뷰 정영수(숙명여대 기계시스템학부 교수) : "만약 에어로졸 속에 병원균이 존재한다면 이 병원균에 의한 질병을 짧은 시간 안에 굉장히 멀리 퍼뜨릴 수 있는 아주 중요한 원리가 되겠습니다." 때문에 연구진은 농작물의 병충해나 동물의 감염병이 빠르게 확산되는 원인과도 관련이 있을 것으로 분석했습니다.


그러나 흙 속에는 인체에 유해한 박테리아는 거의 없기 때문에 사람에게 별 영향은 없는 것으로 전문가들은 보고 있습니다.

KBS 뉴스 이정훈입니다.

Nature Communications

BIOAEROSOL GENERATION BY RAINDROPS ON SOIL

Bioaerosol generation by raindrops on soil

Young Soo JoungZhifei Ge & Cullen R. Buie

Nature Communications 8, Article number: 14668 (2017)

doi:10.1038/ncomms14668

Here we report a previously unknown mechanism by which rain disperses soil bacteria into the air. Bubbles, tens of micrometres in size, formed inside the raindrops disperse micro-droplets containing soil bacteria during raindrop impingement. A single raindrop can transfer 0.01% of bacteria on the soil surface and the bacteria can survive more than one hour after the aerosol generation process. This work further reveals that bacteria transfer by rain is highly dependent on the regional soil profile and climate conditions.

MIT NEWS

A LIGHT RAIN CAN SPREAD SOIL BACTERIA FAR AND WIDE

Here we report a previously unknown mechanism by which rain disperses soil bacteria into the air. Bubbles, tens of micrometres in size, formed inside the raindrops disperse micro-droplets containing soil bacteria during raindrop impingement. A single raindrop can transfer 0.01% of bacteria on the soil surface and the bacteria can survive more than one hour after the aerosol generation process. This work further reveals that bacteria transfer by rain is highly dependent on the regional soil profile and climate conditions.

The New York Times

THE SMELL OF RAIN

Published on Jan 27, 2015

If the drop falls too slowly, it is absorbed; too fast, and it splatters without the bubbles emerging. “The sweet spot has to do with the velocity of the droplet and the qualities of the soil,” said Cullen R. Buie, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. He and a postdoctoral researcher, Youngsoo Joung, reported on their work in Nature Communications.

Produced by: David Frank and James Gorman

MBC 뉴스데스크

봄비 오는 날, 흙냄새 강한 이유는?…비밀은 '에어로졸'에

◀ 정영수 연구원/미국 MIT대학

▶ "(흙냄새 나는) 화학성분이 비가 올 때 에어로졸을 통해서 대기 중으로, 인간의 후각으로 전달돼 (향기가 납니다)"
장마철 폭우보다 봄에 내리는 부슬비가 흙냄새가 더 진한 이유도 밝혀졌습니다.
물방울 떨어지는 속도가 초속 2미터를 넘어가면 대부분 토양에서 물이 너무 빨리 흡수돼 에어로졸 발산이 줄어들기 때문입니다.
또 미국의 다른 연구진은 빗방울이 병든 작물의 잎에 떨어지면서 병원균을 퍼트리는 걸 포착하는 등 빗방울의 비밀을 찾는 연구가 계속되고 있습니다.

MBC뉴스 손병산입니다.

ACS Applied Materials and Interface

ANTI WETTING FABRIC PRODUCED BY A COMBINATION OF LAYER BY LAYER ASSEMBLY AND ELECTROPHORETIC DEPOSITION

This work describes a nanoparticle coating method to produce durable anti-wetting polyester fabric. Images of water droplets on polyester fabrics modified by our fabrication process. The modified fabric does not lose its original color but the droplets show high contact angles and low roll-off angles. Flexibility of the original fabric is maintained after modification while wettability changes dramatically from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic.

Physical Review E

SCALING LAWS FOR DROP IMPINGEMENT ON POROUS FILMS AND PAPERS

This study investigates drop impingement on highly wetting porous films and papers. Experiments reveal previously unexplored impingement modes on porous surfaces designated as necking, spreading, and jetting. Dimensional analysis yields a nondimensional parameter, denoted the Washburn-Reynolds number, relating droplet kinetic energy and surface energy.

Media: News

USA TODAY

STUDY ANSWERS WHY IT SMELLS SO GOOD AFTER IT RAINS

Bubbles may be behind the earthy smell we get after it rains. MIT researchers used high-speed cameras to capture raindrops falling on different surfaces and studied what happened to the rain on impact.

USA TODAY NetworkPublished 6:12 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2015.

MIT NEWS

RAINFALL CAN RELEASE AEROSOLS, HIGH-SPEED VIDEO SHOWS

Published on Jan 14, 2015
Using high-speed cameras, MIT researchers observed that when a raindrop hits a surface, it traps tiny air bubbles at the point of contact. As in a glass of champagne, the bubbles then shoot upward, ultimately bursting from the drop in a fizz of aerosols.

Sookmyung Women’s University
Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering

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