Vincenc Strouhal (Čeněk Strouhal) (10 April 1850 in Seč – 26 January 1922 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

specializing in experimental physics. He was one of the founders of the Institute of Physics of the Czech part of Charles University. He was engaged in hydrodynamic phenomena, acoustics and electric and magnetic properties of steel.

Strouhal number

Strouhal's major contribution to the fundamentals of

fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...

was his discovery in 1878 of the Strouhal number (St). This dimensionless number describing oscillating flow mechanisms was discovered by Strouhal while experimenting in 1878 with wires experiencing

vortex shedding In fluid dynamics, vortex shedding is an oscillating flow that takes place when a fluid such as air or water flows past a bluff (as opposed to streamlined) body at certain velocities, depending on the size and shape of the body. In this flow, v ...

and singing in the wind.

Named after Strouhal

* 7391 Strouhal, a minor planet named after Strouhal in 1983 by the Czech astronomer

Antonín Mrkos Antonín Mrkos () (27 January 1918, Střemchoví – 29 May 1996, Prague) was a Czech astronomer. Biography Mrkos entered the University in Brno in 1938. His studies were interrupted by the onset of World War II, and in 1945 he became a staff ...

. * Since 1998, ceremonial ''Strouhal's lecture'' is held every year at the

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University The Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University (Czech: ''Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta Univerzity Karlovy'' or ''Matfyz'') was established on September 1, 1952, in Prague, Czech Republic. Since that time, the faculty has been r ...

, in a lecture hall named after him.Ceremonial Lectures
mff.cuni.cz

Strouhal number

Named after Strouhal

References

Further reading