How the World Flows - Microfluidics From Raindrops to Covid Tests

How the World Flows shows that many processes essential to life on Earth are microfluidic marvels. It examines how our cells breathe, feed, and fight diseases through small capillaries. Many ancient human inventions rely on microfluidics, but the size of the fluid interactions in these systems, natural and human-made, has prevented most people from appreciating their inner workings. Through engaging and digestible stories, Folch takes a lens to this tiny science and demonstrates how big a role microfluidics play in life as we know it.

List of contents

• Acknowledgments


• Introduction: What Is "Microfluidics"?


• Part I A World of Droplets


• 1: The Liquid Pearls of Mother Nature: The Microfluidics of Rainbows, Clouds, and Other Aerosol Phenomena-and How Droplets Are Affected by Humidity, Surfaces, and Diffusion


• 2: The Drops of Life: The Role of Surface Tension in Everyday Life-and Biotechnology


• 3: Healing Mists: The Breakup of Jets into Sprays and Their Use in the Treatment of Tuberculosis and Asthma


• 4: Mercedes' Droplets: How Sprays Revolutionized Combustion Engines, from Carburetors to Fuel Injectors


• 5: This Olive Is Not an Olive: Similarities in the Use of Droplets in Gastronomy and Genomics


• 6: Industrious Droplets for an Industrial Era: The Airbrush Paint Device, the Inkjet Printer, and Their Cousin the 3D Printer


• Part II Wick It Up


• 7: The Plants of Progress: Capillary Action in Plants, the Drop-by-Drop Extraction of Useful Juices from Certain Trees, and Autonomous Capillary Microfluidic Devices


• 8: Trickling Sand: The Microfluidics of Acequias, Aquifers, and Paleolithic Caves, Next to Microfluidic Models of Sand for Worms


• 9: Nadal's Sweat: The Microfluidics of Sweat-Based Cooling, Our Various Glands, and Wearable Sweat Sensors


• 10: The Flame of Microfluidics: The Capillary Action That Powers the Candle Wick and the Impact of Candles and Oil Lamps


• 11: The Magic of Paper: The Capillary Action That Draws Ink out of Various Writing Devices into Paper


• 12: The Man Who Wore a Sanitary Pad: The Revolution in Women's Health Care Brought About by Inexpensive Pads and Home Pregnancy Tests, Both Powered by Microfluidics


• Part III Going with the Flow


• 13: Dirty Blood: The Amazing Microfluidics of the Kidney, Kidney Dialysis, Hypodermic Needles, and Mosquitos


• 14: The Sensor That Saved Jeff's Feet: Microfluidic Glucose Sensors for Diabetics and Point-of-Care Blood Analyzers


• 15: Every Breath We Take: The Microfluidic Organs That Breathe for Us and the First Lung-on-a-Chip


• 16: The Sounds of Microfluidics: From the Tiny, Fluid-Filled Ancient Circuits of Our Hearing and Balance to the Simplicity of Ultrasound-Powered Chips


• 17: The Microfluidic Race against Cancer: Circulating Tumor Cells, the Microfluidic Circuits of the Lymphatic System, and the Circulating Tumor Cell Chip


• 18: The Innocence of DNA: The Microfluidic DNA Sequencing Chips and Their Impact on Society


• Glossary

About the author

Albert Folch is a Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. He was born in Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain) and he graduated in Physics (B.Sc. 1989 & Ph.D. 1994) from the University of Barcelona. He did postdocs at MIT (1994-96) and at Harvard-MGH (1997-2000). His lab works on cancer microfluidics and 3D-printing. He received an NSF CAREER Award (2001) and was elected a member of the AIMBE College of Fellows (2014) and of the Institute of Catalan Studies (2022). Since 2007, his lab has produced an art outreach program called Bringing Art Into Technology (BAIT). Among other books, the author has written Introduction to BioMEMS (2012) and Hidden in Plain Sight (2022).

Summary

How the World Flows acts like a microscope that pulls the reader into the barely noticeable, Lilliputian world of fluids at small scales--the microfluidic world-and answers the question "What is microfluidics?" in non-technical language.

Microfluidics is the field of science that studies fluids constrained to spaces that are smaller than one millimeter wide, and by extension, the engineering field which builds devices that exploit the unique properties of fluids at these scales. Author Albert Folch explores this micro science which has inspired engineers to build devices such as engines, spray cans, ballpoint pens, inkjet and 3D printers, pregnancy and Covid tests, glucometers, asthma nebulizers, kidney dialysis machines, and DNA analyzers.

This book also shows that many processes essential to life on Earth - such as the formation of raindrops, the rise of sap in plants, and the percolation of water through soil - are all microfluidic marvels. It examines how our cells breathe, feed, and fight diseases through small capillaries. Many ancient human inventions, ranging from soaps and sauces to the candle wick, the gauze, and the ink brush, rely on microfluidics, but the size of the fluid interactions in these systems, natural and human-made, has prevented most people from appreciating their inner workings. Through engaging and digestible stories, Folch takes a lens to this tiny science and demonstrates how big a role microfluidics play in life as we know it.

Additional text

How the World Flows makes a significant contribution to the field of microfluidics. It will become a reference work for those seeking a comprehensive introduction, as well as for teachers and experts.

Product details

• Authors: Albert Folch, Albert (Professor of Bioengineering Folch, Folch Albert
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 11.06.2025
• EAN: 9780197772829
• ISBN: 978-0-19-777282-9
• No. of pages: 304
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Biology > General, dictionaries; Microbiology (non-medical), SCIENCE / History, SCIENCE / Mechanics / Fluids, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Molecular Biology, SCIENCE / Life Sciences / Microbiology, molecular biology, History of Science