Topic summary
Barotropic
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Barotropic fluid.
A barotropic flow is a generalization of a barotropic atmosphere. It is a flow in which the pressure is a function of the density only and vice versa. In other words, it is a flow in which isobaric surfaces are isopycnic surfaces and vice versa. One may have a barotropic flow of a non-barotropic fluid, but a barotropic fluid will always follow a barotropic flow. Examples include barotropic layers of the oceans, an isothermal ideal gas or an isentropic ideal gas.