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Critical Layer
In fluid dynamics, Rayleigh's equation or Rayleigh stability equation is a linear ordinary differential equation to study the hydrodynamic stability of a parallel, incompressible and inviscid shear flow. The equation is: :(U-c) (\varphi'' - k^2 \varphi) - U'' \varphi=0, with U(z) the flow velocity of the steady base flow whose stability is to be studied and z is the cross-stream direction (i.e. perpendicular to the flow direction). Further \varphi(z) is the complex valued amplitude of the infinitesimal streamfunction perturbations applied to the base flow, k is the wavenumber of the perturbations and c is the phase speed with which the perturbations propagate in the flow direction. The prime denotes differentiation with respect to z. Background The equation is named after Lord Rayleigh, who introduced it in 1880. The Orr–Sommerfeld equation – introduced later, for the study of stability of parallel viscous flow – reduces to Rayleigh's equation when the viscosity is ze ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differentiation (mathematics)
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. For example, the derivative of the position of a moving object with respect to time is the object's velocity: this measures how quickly the position of the object changes when time advances. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point. The tangent line is the best linear approximation of the function near that input value. For this reason, the derivative is often described as the "instantaneous rate of change", the ratio of the instantaneous change in the dependent variable to that of the independent variable. Derivatives can be generalized to functions of several real variables. In this generalization, the derivat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Streamlines, Streaklines, And Pathlines
Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow. They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady. Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of continuum mechanics, we have that: * Streamlines are a family of curves whose tangent vectors constitute the velocity vector field of the flow. These show the direction in which a massless fluid element will travel at any point in time. * Streaklines are the loci of points of all the fluid particles that have passed continuously through a particular spatial point in the past. Dye steadily injected into the fluid at a fixed point extends along a streakline. * Pathlines are the trajectories that individual fluid particles follow. These can be thought of as "recording" the path of a fluid element in the flow over a certain period. The direction the path takes will be determined by the streamlines of the fluid at each moment in time. * T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Kelvin
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy (Glasgow), Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging discipline of physics in its contemporary form. He received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1883, was its President of the Royal Society, president 1890–1895, and in 1892 was the first British scientist to be elevated to the House of Lords. Absolute temperatures are stated in units of kelvin in his honour. While the existence of a coldest possible temperature (absolute zero) was known prior to his work, Kelvin is known for determining its correct value as approximately −273.15 degrees Celsius or −459.67 degrees Fahrenheit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematical Singularity
In mathematics, a singularity is a point at which a given mathematical object is not defined, or a point where the mathematical object ceases to be well-behaved in some particular way, such as by lacking differentiability or analyticity. For example, the real function : f(x) = \frac has a singularity at x = 0, where the numerical value of the function approaches \pm\infty so the function is not defined. The absolute value function g(x) = , x, also has a singularity at x = 0, since it is not differentiable there. The algebraic curve defined by \left\ in the (x, y) coordinate system has a singularity (called a cusp) at (0, 0). For singularities in algebraic geometry, see singular point of an algebraic variety. For singularities in differential geometry, see singularity theory. Real analysis In real analysis, singularities are either discontinuities, or discontinuities of the derivative (sometimes also discontinuities of higher order derivatives). There are four kinds of discon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kelvins Cat Eye Pattern Streamlines
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and physicist William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824–1907). The Kelvin scale is an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale, meaning it uses absolute zero as its null (zero) point. Historically, the Kelvin scale was developed by shifting the starting point of the much-older Celsius scale down from the melting point of water to absolute zero, and its increments still closely approximate the historic definition of a degree Celsius, but since 2019 the scale has been defined by fixing the Boltzmann constant to be exactly . Hence, one kelvin is equal to a change in the thermodynamic temperature that results in a change of thermal energy by . The temperature in degree Celsius is now defined as the temperature in kelvins minus 273.15, meaning tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squire's Theorem
In fluid dynamics, Squire's theorem states that of all the perturbations that may be applied to a shear flow (i.e. a velocity field of the form \mathbf = (U(z), 0, 0)), the perturbations which are least stable are two-dimensional, i.e. of the form \mathbf' = (u'(x,z,t),0,w'(x,z,t)), rather than the three-dimensional disturbances. This applies to incompressible flows which are governed by the Navier–Stokes equations. The theorem is named after Herbert Squire, who proved the theorem in 1933.Squire, H. B. (1933). On the stability for three-dimensional disturbances of viscous fluid flow between parallel walls. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Containing Papers of a Mathematical and Physical Character, 142(847), 621-628. Squire's theorem allows many simplifications to be made in stability theory. If we want to decide whether a flow is unstable or not, it suffices to look at two-dimensional perturbations. These are governed by the Orr–Sommerfeld equation for vis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complex Conjugate
In mathematics, the complex conjugate of a complex number is the number with an equal real part and an imaginary part equal in magnitude but opposite in sign. That is, (if a and b are real, then) the complex conjugate of a + bi is equal to a - bi. The complex conjugate of z is often denoted as \overline or z^*. In polar form, the conjugate of r e^ is r e^. This can be shown using Euler's formula. The product of a complex number and its conjugate is a real number: a^2 + b^2 (or r^2 in polar coordinates). If a root of a univariate polynomial with real coefficients is complex, then its complex conjugate is also a root. Notation The complex conjugate of a complex number z is written as \overline z or z^*. The first notation, a vinculum, avoids confusion with the notation for the conjugate transpose of a matrix, which can be thought of as a generalization of the complex conjugate. The second is preferred in physics, where dagger (†) is used for the conjugate tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discrete Spectrum
A physical quantity is said to have a discrete spectrum if it takes only distinct values, with gaps between one value and the next. The classical example of discrete spectrum (for which the term was first used) is the characteristic set of discrete spectral lines seen in the emission spectrum and absorption spectrum of isolated atoms of a chemical element, which only absorb and emit light at particular wavelengths. The technique of spectroscopy is based on this phenomenon. Discrete spectra are contrasted with the continuous spectra also seen in such experiments, for example in thermal emission, in synchrotron radiation, and many other light-producing phenomena. Discrete spectra are seen in many other phenomena, such as vibrating strings, microwaves in a metal cavity, sound waves in a pulsating star, and resonances in high-energy particle physics. The general phenomenon of discrete spectra in physical systems can be mathematically modeled with tools of functional an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continuous Spectrum
In physics, a continuous spectrum usually means a set of attainable values for some physical quantity (such as energy or wavelength) that is best described as an interval of real numbers, as opposed to a discrete spectrum, a set of attainable values that is discrete in the mathematical sense, where there is a positive gap between each value and the next one. The classical example of a continuous spectrum, from which the name is derived, is the part of the spectrum of the light emitted by excited atoms of hydrogen that is due to free electrons becoming bound to a hydrogen ion and emitting photons, which are smoothly spread over a wide range of wavelengths, in contrast to the discrete lines due to electrons falling from some bound quantum state to a state of lower energy. As in that classical example, the term is most often used when the range of values of a physical quantity may have both a continuous and a discrete part, whether at the same time or in different situations. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eigenvalue
In linear algebra, an eigenvector () or characteristic vector of a linear transformation is a nonzero vector that changes at most by a scalar factor when that linear transformation is applied to it. The corresponding eigenvalue, often denoted by \lambda, is the factor by which the eigenvector is scaled. Geometrically, an eigenvector, corresponding to a real nonzero eigenvalue, points in a direction in which it is stretched by the transformation and the eigenvalue is the factor by which it is stretched. If the eigenvalue is negative, the direction is reversed. Loosely speaking, in a multidimensional vector space, the eigenvector is not rotated. Formal definition If is a linear transformation from a vector space over a field into itself and is a nonzero vector in , then is an eigenvector of if is a scalar multiple of . This can be written as T(\mathbf) = \lambda \mathbf, where is a scalar in , known as the eigenvalue, characteristic value, or characteristic root ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eigenfunction
In mathematics, an eigenfunction of a linear operator ''D'' defined on some function space is any non-zero function f in that space that, when acted upon by ''D'', is only multiplied by some scaling factor called an eigenvalue. As an equation, this condition can be written as Df = \lambda f for some scalar eigenvalue \lambda. The solutions to this equation may also be subject to boundary conditions that limit the allowable eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. An eigenfunction is a type of eigenvector. Eigenfunctions In general, an eigenvector of a linear operator ''D'' defined on some vector space is a nonzero vector in the domain of ''D'' that, when ''D'' acts upon it, is simply scaled by some scalar value called an eigenvalue. In the special case where ''D'' is defined on a function space, the eigenvectors are referred to as eigenfunctions. That is, a function ''f'' is an eigenfunction of ''D'' if it satisfies the equation where λ is a scalar. The solutions to Equation may also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
