How Speaking Creates Droplets That May Spread COVID-19

O ne way that COVID-19 spreads is through saliva droplets emitted during speech, but the precise mechanism that creates the droplets in the mouth is not well understood. NowManouk Abkarian of the University of Montpellier, France, and Howard Stone of Princeton University have recorded high-speed video of the mouth of a volunteer speaking various sounds [1]. The duo uncovered the droplet production process and identified the consonants, such as “p” and “t,” that most effectively generate droplets when spoken. They also found that lip balm interferes with droplet formation and can dramatically reduce the number of droplets emitted.