TP301: Introduction to Turbulence

by Le Yin

Week 1-8, Thursdays 1900-2000 and Mondays 2000-2200 (GMT+8), 24h in total

“It is not the problem of finding new fundamental particles, but something left over from a long time ago—over a hundred years. Nobody in physics has really been able to analyze it mathematically satisfactorily in spite of its importance to the sister sciences. It is the analysis of circulating or turbulent fluids.”

Richard P. Feynman

Described by Feynman (and perhaps originating from Einstein) as the most important unsolved problem in classical physics/fluid mechanics, turbulence remains only partly understood despite having attracted the sustained efforts of many leading scientists for well over a century. As an example, Heisenberg did his PhD on turbulence with Sommerfeld, from which he decided to move on to quantum mechanics.

In this course, I will introduce to you the physics and mathematics of turbulent flow. The course content is based on the Introduction to Turbulence and Modelling course I took from Prof. J. C. Vassilicos & Dr. O. Buxton during the Autumn term in 2018 and the Hydrodynamic Stability course I took from my supervisor Dr. Yongyun Hwang during summer in 2019, both at Imperial. The book by Pope (2000) will also be used throughout the course.

The expected duration of the lecture is 24h, in terms of 12 two-hours lectures. The exact timing is subject to change.

For more information, here is the Guide to Course.