Aerosol extractor could protect against spread of airborne diseases

Dr Cathal Cummins of Heriot-Watt’s School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, devised a mathematical model of droplet spread and is said to have found a clear demarcation between small, intermediate, and large-sized droplets.

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By using simple formulas he and the team, including researchers from Edinburgh University, were able to determine a droplet’s maximum range. The team’s findings are published in Physics of Fluids.

While this model predicted large and small droplets can spread far, the authors found that medium-sized droplets fall very close to the source. The findings follow the World Health Organisation’s warning that aerosol transmission of Covid-19 is being underestimated. If aerosol spread is confirmed to be significant, then governments may need to reconsider guidelines on social distancing, ventilation systems, and shared spaces.

Before this step is taken, researchers say the science community needs a better understanding of how droplets behave when travelling through the air and their dispersion mechanisms based on droplet size.