Suppressing turbulence in pipes
Updated: 2010-03-19 16:35:06
Physics Today News Picks A blog of hand-picked science news from the staff of Physics Today Home Print edition Advertising Buyers Guide Jobs Events calendar Boeing designs ship-based laser weapon system News Picks home Suppressing turbulence in pipes By Physics Today on March 19, 2010 12:35 PM No Comments No TrackBacks Science Pipes feature strongly in the infrastructure of everyday life , from domestic water pipes to oil and natural gas conduits . A primary consequence of the onset of turbulence in the fluid flowing through the pipes is the dramatically increased power required to pump stuff at the same rate . Thus , the incentives to understand and control the transition process are strong . More than 100 years after Osborne Reynolds s seminal experiments on the transition of flow through a pipe from a laminar smooth to a turbulent state , the exact physical mechanism that drives this phenomenon still vexes the fluid mechanics community . In Science Björn Hof and associates describe a mechanism that feeds energy into a turbulent flow system , allowing the onset of the transition to be manipulated and even the suppression of the . turbulence Related link Eliminating turbulence in