Ideal Fluid Flows

Some solutions of Euler’s equations are found here. The simplest are the steady flows: water flowing out of a tank at a constant rate, the Venturi and Pitot tubes. Another is the static solution of a self-gravitating fluid of variable density (e.g., a star). If the total mass is too large, such a star can collapse (Chandrasekhar limit). If the flow is both irrotational and incompressible, it must satisfy Laplace’s equation. Complex analysismethods can be used to solve for the flow past a cylinder or inside a disk with a stirrer. Joukowski used conformal transformations on the cylinder to find the lift of the wing of an airplane, in the limit of zero viscosity. Waves on the surface of a fluid are studied as another example. The speed of these waves is derived as a function of their wavelength and the depth of the fluid.