public transit is a necessity for many, but since covid-19 made distancing a top priority, it’s left many of us wondering how to stay safe on a crowded rush hour bus.
researchers from ibm research europe suggest that where you choose to sit on a bus or train could have an impact on your level of exposure to exhaled droplets from others.
in the study, published in
physics of fluids by aip publishing
,
researchers studied the effects of heat, evaporation, humidity, and ventilation systems on public transport u
sing a multi-physics model — a type of program that simulates multiple objects with different sorts of physics simultaneously,
“by visualizing the droplets and the flow, you realize the number of physical phenomena taking place around us that go unnoticed, such as the complex interactions between natural body plumes, exhalation, and ventilation,” the study’s author carlos peña-monferrer said. “when it comes to preventing risk of infection, this is precisely what makes it difficult to contain.”
the simulation consisted of three women sitting together and observing the droplets from their breath. none of them were wearing masks, and the researchers did not look into different types of exhales such as sneezing or coughing. instead, they chose to focus on standard breathing that produced a standard amount of droplets. droplets from both the nose and mouth were examined.