Fluidics

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/fluidics

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the key design characteristic?Absence of moving parts ensures high reliability, durability, and low maintenance
2. What is the historical context?Developed significantly in the 1950s-1960s to overcome electronic limitations in extreme environments
3. What is fluidics and how does it work like a computer?Fluidics uses moving water or air instead of electrons to make decisions. It relies on the Coanda effect and jet deflection to turn one fluid stream into another, similar to how a transistor switches. The result is a computer that has no moving parts.
4. Why do fluidic computers not wear out like regular machines?Because they have no tiny moving parts, fluidic devices don’t have parts that rub together. This makes them last a long time and stay reliable even in tough places.

Coanda Effect: The tendency of a fluid jet to stay attached to a convex surface.
Microfluidics: The study and engineering of fluid behavior in micro-scale channels.
Boolean Logic Gates: Electronic or fluidic circuits that perform basic logical operations (AND, OR, NOT).
Nonlinear Amplification: A process where a small input signal produces a disproportionately larger output signal.