turbulent flow

noun

: a fluid flow in which the velocity at a given point varies erratically in magnitude and direction compare laminar flow

Examples of turbulent flow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Now, a new analysis by physicists based in China and France suggests the artist had a deep, intuitive understanding of the mathematical structure of turbulent flow. Katie Hunt, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024 Batchelor’s scaling mathematically represents how small particles, such as drifting algae in the ocean or pieces of dust in the wind, are passively mixed around by turbulent flow. Katie Hunt, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024 That is, some turbulent flows exhibit energy cascades, whereby large eddies transfer some of their energy to smaller eddies. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Sep. 2024 But the news is not all good: Odor plumes are almost always turbulent, and turbulent flow makes searching by gradient wildly inefficient. Dana MacKenzie, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2023 The strengthening fields, in turn, generated their own turbulent flow of stellar material. Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2023 But their parents were looking even happier, running the intended science experiments with those toys and reading up on Bernoulli’s Principle, turbulent flow, and the like. Corey S Powell, Discover Magazine, 19 Oct. 2011 But whereas the earlier team found Kolmogorov scaling—the subsonic turbulent flow underlying the convection currents in stars as well as Earth's atmosphere—the Australian duo found supersonic turbulence. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 30 Nov. 2021 Named after the 19th-century physicist Osborne Reynolds, the concept is especially useful for predicting when a fluid will transition to turbulent flow. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Nov. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'turbulent flow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of turbulent flow was in 1895

Dictionary Entries Near turbulent flow

Cite this Entry

“Turbulent flow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turbulent%20flow. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on turbulent flow

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!