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Vortex Lines
In continuum mechanics, vorticity is a pseudovector field that describes the local spinning motion of a continuum near some point (the tendency of something to rotate), as would be seen by an observer located at that point and traveling along with the flow. It is an important quantity in the dynamical theory of fluids and provides a convenient framework for understanding a variety of complex flow phenomena, such as the formation and motion of vortex rings. Mathematically, the vorticity \vec is the curl of the flow velocity \vec: :\vec \equiv \nabla \times \vec\,, where \nabla is the nabla operator. Conceptually, \vec could be determined by marking parts of a continuum in a small neighborhood of the point in question, and watching their ''relative'' displacements as they move along the flow. The vorticity \vec would be twice the mean angular velocity vector of those particles relative to their center of mass, oriented according to the right-hand rule. In a two-dimensional fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continuum Mechanics
Continuum mechanics is a branch of mechanics that deals with the mechanical behavior of materials modeled as a continuous mass rather than as discrete particles. The French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy was the first to formulate such models in the 19th century. Explanation A continuum model assumes that the substance of the object fills the space it occupies. Modeling objects in this way ignores the fact that matter is made of atoms, and so is not continuous; however, on length scales much greater than that of inter-atomic distances, such models are highly accurate. These models can be used to derive differential equations that describe the behavior of such objects using physical laws, such as mass conservation, momentum conservation, and energy conservation, and some information about the material is provided by constitutive relationships. Continuum mechanics deals with the physical properties of solids and fluids which are independent of any particular coordinate sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |