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Droplet generation and disease transmissions

When a sick person coughs or sneezes, he or she produces tiny droplets that can spread over large areas, potentially spreading germs to people around. There is also a now growing recognition that even speaking can generate fast-moving droplets,

Here, we use a bright laser to illuminate the droplets generated during talking. There are three scenarios in the videos below: 1) a person saying the tongue twister "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers", 2) a person vocalizing the sound /pa/ as in the second syllable in the word papa, and 3) how a simple cotton mask can greatly limit the spread of droplets.

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Droplet generation

Droplet generation
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Droplet_2

Droplet_2

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Droplet_1

Droplet_1

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Cotton_mask

Cotton_mask

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Our work underscores the importance of social-distancing and the widespread wearing of masks in public places during this extraordinary time. At the same time, it also illustrates how an understanding of droplet physics can help inform public health policy and potentially limit disease transmissions.

Stay tune to our work in this area. In the mean time, take a look at the short public health information provided by A*STAR in the youtube clip below.

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