The world’s fastest supercomputer models how virus particles disperse at a dining table.RIKEN/KOBE UNIVERSITY
A simulation from the Fugaku supercomputer in Japan demonstrates how the seating arrangement can make a difference in how easily the coronavirus is transmitted to dining settings.
Study was made using Fugaku, the world’s fastest supercomputer, to identify most appropriate setting while dining in the time of COVID-19.
The study was made based on consideration four people sit across from each other with one talking to one another while looking at their face for about a minute. There are three scenarios analyzed: Sitting across each other, sitting side by side and sitting diagonally.
The study suggests that a person is more likely to be exposed to the coronavirus through droplets if they sit next to their dining partner and turn their head to talk than if they sit across from each other. It found a person is exposed to five times as many droplets when being spoken to if they are sitting side by side than when sitting directly across from each other.
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When a person spoke to someone diagonally across the table, approximately 75% fewer droplets reached them compared to the previous scenario.
“It’s very effective to sit diagonally in front of each other (in preventing the spread of droplets),” said research team leader Makoto Tsubokura, a professor of computational science at Kobe University.