WASHINGTON — Public transportation is the lifeblood for people living in many major cities around the world. However, where these commuters choose to sit on a crowded bus or train may increase their exposure to particles carrying COVID-19, a recent study warns.

Researchers at IBM Research Europe have developed a model showing the differences in ventilation depending on where someone sits on a mass transit vehicle. Thier study focused on the common characteristics of asymptomatic transmission, including air and droplet dynamics, heat transfer, evaporation, humidity, and effects of ventilation systems.

“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,” explains author Carlos Peña-Monferrer in a media release. “When it comes to preventing risk of infection, this is precisely what makes it difficult to contain.”

Pick the Window Seat

Using their model, the team looked at what happens to tiny droplets (aerosols) when someone […]