Bibcode
Casuso, E.
Bibliographical reference
International Journal of Theoretical Physics, Volume 46, Issue 7, pp.1809-1814
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7
2007
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
We are all familiar with the fact that a linear flow of water in a tube
can be obtained only for velocities below a certain critical limit and
that, when the velocity exceeds this limit, laminar flow ceases and a
complex, irregular, and fluctuating motion sets in. More generally than
in this context of flow through a tube, it is known that motions
governed by the equations of Stokes and Navier change into turbulent
motion when a certain nondimensional constant called the Reynolds number
exceeds a certain value of the order of 1000 (P. Bradshaw, 1978). This
Reynolds number depends upon the linear dimension, L, of the system, the
coefficient of viscosity μ, the density ρ, and the velocity v in
the following manner R = ρ vL/μ. Following (S. Chandrasekhar
(1949), ApJ 110, 329) we can make us the question: What is the reason
that a phenomenon like turbulence can occur at all?. We describe the
turbulence in fluids as a consequence of the inherent discontinuity of
matter. We start with the description of matter density as a
discontinuous Dirichlet integral function, and through the Euler
equation for matter conservation, we obtain a differential equation
which implies a transference of velocity (and then energy) from one
eddys to others, i.e. from one scale to another, which is one of the
main observational features of turbulence.