Theories versus formalisms. After the catastrophe of quasi-normality, the modern era of turbulence theory began in the late 1950s, with a series of papers by Kraichnan in the Physical Review, culminating in the formal presentation of his direct-interaction approximation (DIA) in JFM in 1959 [1]. The next step was the paper by Wyld [2], whichContinue reading Theories versus formalisms

Marseille (1961): a paradoxical outcome. When I was first at Edinburgh, in the early 1970s, a number of samizdat-like documents, of entirely mysterious provenance, were being passed around. One that came my way, was a paper by Lumley which contained some rather interesting ideas for treating the problem of turbulent diffusion. I expect that itContinue reading Marseille (1961): a paradoxical outcome.

Which Navier-Stokes equation do you use? In the first half of 1999, a major turbulence programme was held at the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge. On those days when there were no lectures or seminars during the morning, a large group of us used to meet for coffee and discussions. In my view these discussionsContinue reading Which Navier-Stokes equation do you use?

Turbulence as a quantum field theory: 2 In the previous post, we specified the problem of stationary, isotropic turbulence, and discussed the nature of turbulence phenomenology, insofar as it is relevant to taking our first steps in a field-theoretic approach. Now we will extend that specification in order to allow us to concentrate on renormalizationContinue reading Turbulence as a quantum field theory: 2